"I had a feeling they would come back" – Nagelsmann's advisor on Bayern's bid to re-sign coach | OneFootball

On BILD podcast 'Phrasenmäher', Julian Nagelsmann's advisor, Volker Struth, revealed his client could have returned to Bayern Munich less than two years ago. 

As the 2023-24 season neared it's end, it was clear that then-Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel would not be continuing, so Bayern sporting director Max Eberl approached Nagelsmann again.

Eberl and Bayern wanted to rectify the club's previous mistake after they had dismissed the young coach just the season before despite his long-term contract.

“I had a feeling they would come back – and that’s exactly what happened. Max called me, and then Sascha Breese [a partner in Struth’s agency] and I met with him and Jan-Christian Dreesen in Munich.

“Julian was never present and had asked us to handle the situation very sensitively. In March, there were international matches in France [2-0] and against the Netherlands [2-1], which went perfectly.

“The atmosphere before the home European Championship was really starting to build. The fact that talks were even taking place could have posed a threat to the tournament,” said Struth. 

According to Struth, board member Uli Hoeneß also became active and essentially apologized to Nagelsmann's side after Bayern dismissed him suddenly in March 2023. 

“He called me and said that the separation from Julian had not been handled in a Bayern-like manner and that he would welcome Julian becoming coach again," Struth explained.

However, a return to his former club didn't happen. One of the main reasons was the upcoming EUROs, the success of which the national coach didn't want to jeopardize.