Julian Nagelsmann had a furious bust-up with Sadio Mane shortly before he was sacked by Bayern Munich, according to reports.
The 35-year-old was shockingly dismissed from the Allianz Arena last week, with former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel replacing him.
Even though Bayern were in contention to win a treble, Nagelsmann was sacked because the club weren’t dominating the Bundesliga as usual, with CEO Oliver Kahn saying: ‘We have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad has come to the fore less and less often.
‘After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future.’
More reports have emerged since, suggesting reasons why the manager and club parted ways, and the latest hints that it could have been over a fall-out with Mane.
The attacker arrived from Liverpool last summer and was seen as a statement signing for Bayern and Nagelsmann, and he’s had a good impact so far, recording 11 goals and five assists in 28 games.
The 30-year-old missed three months of football thanks to a muscle injury however and only returned in February, with Nagelsmann easing him back by bringing him off the bench with about 30 minutes to go in two league matches.
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His next game was against PSG in the Champions League, but on that occasion the manager waited until the 82nd minute to sub him on, with the aggregate score 2-0 in their favour.
According to Bild, the decision to leave it late angered Mane and he proceeded to confront Nagelsmann in the dressing room after in front of the rest of the squad.
It is reported that he ‘complained furiously’ with ‘the situation in the dressing room even threatening to escalate.’
During his time at Liverpool, Mane was known for showing his annoyance at getting subbed off by Jurgen Klopp, regardless of what the score was.
