"The club didn't just buy the performance. It also bought the risk"

Oliver Kahn has criticized Uli Hoeneß's statements about Jamal Musiala and his neurological illness. The honorary president of FC Bayern recently expressed doubts as to whether the national soccer player will find his way back to his old top form. He mentioned Musiala's contract and spoke of a “dilemma”.

Kahn said a club is allowed to talk about the future of injured players. "But he shouldn't act as if it was an act of special humanity to fulfill the contract that he himself signed. The club didn't just buy the performance. It also bought the risk."

The former CEO of the German record champions wrote on LinkedIn: "Clubs like to call themselves family. It becomes problematic when you talk about family as long as it doesn't cost anything, and talk in numbers as soon as it becomes expensive." Anyone who has responsibility in a top club “has to translate people into numbers,” said Kahn. "The crucial question is whether he can still translate back. Does he still see the person behind the failing asset? Is the club committed to the player or just to his contract?"

“It’s cynical not to ask questions like that,” says Kahn

The 57-year-old agrees that Musiala's situation is being discussed at least internally in the club and that his salary also plays a role. "It's not cynical to ask such questions. Not to ask them would be unprofessional," said Kahn.

Hoeneß (74) caused a stir with statements about Musiala in the BR program “Sonntags-Stammtisch”. Referring to the 23-year-old offensive star's neurological dysfunction, which he made public in the summer, the Bayern patron explained: "Now he continues to get money. Imagine if FC Bayern were to question his contract and say: What he can do now is no longer what was in the contract."

dpa/luwi