„You have to live with it“: Salihamidzic on Hoeneß‘ criticism of Eberl | OneFootball

Uli Hoeneß expressed doubts about Max Eberl’s contract extension before the cup final. Now Eberl’s predecessor Hasan Salihamidžić has spoken out

On Sunday morning, ex-Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic was a guest on Sport1-Doppelpass, where he was also asked about the statements made by Uli Hoeneß, who had recently expressed doubts about a contract extension with Max Eberl

Salihamidzic, who had sporting responsibility himself between 2020 and 2023, doesn’t see this as anything out of the ordinary, but rather statements like these as part of everyday life at Bayern. Because he „had to go through that too. At FC Bayern, you have to expect everything, especially when Uli Hoeneß, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Herbert Hainer are there.“

One of the decisive factors for Salihamidzic is the frequency with which the Bayern bosses are asked to make statements: „There’s always an interview that you don’t expect. But that’s the way it is at Bayern and that’s the way the guys are,“ says the 49-year-old

Salihamidzic defends Hoeneß – and praises Eberl’s reaction

The debate was triggered by statements from Hoeneß, who recently commented surprisingly openly on the future of Max Eberl. In an interview with Der Spiegel, the Bayern patron put the chances of an extension to his contract, which runs until 2027, at „60:40“ – indicating that the decision has by no means been made

However, Salihamidzic does not believe that there was any intention behind the timing of the publication. Rather, he suggested that Hoeneß may have underestimated the impact of his words

„The interview was done on Friday, I happen to know that. Not that I want to defend him [Hoeneß] now – but knowing him, he didn’t know that it would be broadcast on Saturday. I’m sure of that. And that’s why he would say now that it was perhaps a little unfortunate,“ explained Salihamidzic

However, his assessment of Eberl’s reaction was positive: „Max dealt with it very, very well, the team played excellently – that’s why Uli will be happy that nothing happened.“

In addition, Hoeneß qualified his statement from the Spiegel interview with ARD after the final whistle of the cup final, telling the first German television station that he had a good feeling about extending Eberl’s contract.