Bayern Munich ‘surprised’ by Philipp Lahm’s retirement announcement
Bayern Munich have released a statement revealing their surprise at the way Philipp Lahm announced his retirement from football at the end of the season.
Lahm, 33, told reporters after Bayern’s 1-0 win over Wolfsburg in the DFB Pokal that he will call time on his playing career at the end of the current season despite the fact he still has 18 months remaining on his existing deal.
The former Germany international has been thinking about retirement for some time now but Bayern appear to have been left in the dark over the timing of his announcement.
“FC Bayern Munich is surprised by the approach of Philipp Lahm and his adviser,” Bayern’s chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told the club’s official website. “Uli Hoeness and I have held open, intensive and constructive talks with Philipp in recent months about a possible position as sporting director of our club.
“At the end of last week, he informed us that he is currently not available for such a position and that would like an early termination of his player contract, which runs until June 2018, at the end of the current season. Until yesterday we assumed that there would be a joint announcement on this decision by Philipp Lahm and FC Bayern Munich.
“Philipp Lahm has been an important player for FC Bayern Munich for over a decade. We are convinced that our captain will now concentrate fully with the team on the tough upcoming tasks in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB Cup. We would like to make clear that the door will always remain open for Philipp at FC Bayern Munich.”
While Bayern appear to be surprised by the way Lahm has announced his retirement, they are preparing for future without their captain and will reportedly make Bayer Leverkusen right-back Benjamin Henrichs his replacement in the summer.
Since August 2009 Lahm has completed at least 2519 more passes than any other player in the Bundesliga (13238).
For more stats on Philipp Lahm, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
