Jerome Boateng wants clear-the-air talks with Bayern Munich chiefs over lack of ‘public support’ after World Cup
The 30-year-old revealed he felt singled out for blame for Germany's failure in Russia
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Jerome Boateng wants to hold talks with senior figures at Bayern Munich to discuss what he feels is a lack of support from the club, along with the speculation surrounding his future.
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United were both heavily linked with signing Boateng this summer, with Bayern open about their willingness to let the 30-year-old leave the Allianz Arena if they received a bid of £50 million or more.
Boateng has enjoyed remarkable success at Bayern, winning six Bundesliga titles, three DFB Pokals and the Champions League in 2013, but he has also found himself criticised by chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and president Uli Hoeness during his seven years at the club.
Rummenigge publicly accused Boateng of caring more about fashion than football after the defender was voted man of the year in Germany by GQ magazine in 2016, while Hoeness claimed during the summer that the defender had informed him of his wish to join PSG.
Boateng confirmed that a move to the French capital was a “concrete option”, but insisted that he is totally committed to helping Bayern this season.
“I think we should talk again in the near future - that's what we have set out to do - it's important for me to make it clear once again that I'm fully focused on FC Bayern,” Boateng told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
“And on the other hand, I don't think it's nice when things are said about me everywhere and then you do not get any public support from the club.”
A key source of Boateng’s discontent is the criticism he received in the wake of Germany’s disastrous World Cup campaign, when his fashion tastes again became a topic of debate and neither Hoeness, Rummenigge nor any other senior figure at Bayern spoke out in his defence.
“What really bothered me were some of the statements right after the World Cup,” Boateng added.
“That was almost funny. It was said that I was not fully focused, because I wear earrings and wore sunglasses during the South Korea match when the sun was shining.
“In 2014 [at the World Cup in Brazil], I also wore sunglasses and earrings, but I didn't read anything about that. It's incomprehensible to me.
“As a player you would sometimes want a bit more public backing.”
Germany’s inquest into their World Cup failure turned toxic with the retirement of Mesut Özil, who claimed he had been subjected to “racism and disrespect” from the German Football Federation as well as wider society in the wake of his controversial decision to be photographed alongside Turkish president Recep Erdogan shortly before the tournament.
Rummenigge and Hoeness both reacted angrily to Özil’s accusations, which were also dismissed publicly by Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, while Boateng and Ilkay Gundogan were the only members of the Germany squad to express sympathy with the Arsenal star's views.
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