In the summer of 2021, Jerome Boateng moved from FC Bayern to Olympique Lyon. However, the central defender didn’t get the green light there. The fact that the now 35-year-old could now join the Munich team again is a source of massive astonishment for a Ligue 1 expert.
FC Bayern are currently thinking about signing former national player Jerome Boateng, who is currently out of contract. The defender, who recently turned 35, is training with the Munich team this week. In a few days there will be a decision as to whether he could strengthen the small squad as a backup for the central defense.
The fact that Boateng is such a big topic at FC Bayern is astonishing abroad. Because as the journalist Herve Penot, who reports on Boateng’s former club Olympique Lyon in France for the newspaper “‘L’Equipe”, explained to “Bild”, Boateng is no longer who he once was.
“If Boateng isn’t exactly like the fantasy figure Benjamin Button, who gets younger instead of older as the years go by, I would think it was a mistake for Bayern to sign him,” Penot told the tabloid and added with a view to the last two seasons in Ligue 1: “Honestly, because of his poor performances and his legal problems, I thought that Boateng would move to Qatar or Saudi Arabia. After his disappointing time in France, I didn’t expect a club like Bayern would come after him.”
At Olympique he failed under several coaches. “He was too slow, which caused uncertainty throughout the defense,” was the bitter analysis of the “L’Equipe” expert.
Of course, Boateng also had a hard time due to his many injuries, but overall there was simply not enough from the now 35-year-old.
Expert: Even Goretzka is better as a Bayern defender than Boateng
Penot’s conclusion: “In view of the performances that Boateng has shown here, even Goretzka would probably be better for what the club is looking for in its defense – even if central defense is not Goretzka’s position.”
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel announced on Monday evening in a press conference before the Champions League game in Copenhagen (Tuesday, 9 p.m.) that he was worried about the public discussion in the media and among fans, which was primarily about Boateng’s legal issues Problems because of the suspicion of bodily harm revolves around, I can understand.
But: “The presumption of innocence still applies if proceedings are suspended. Therefore, a football club also has the right to make decisions. He is a deserving player. That’s why it’s okay to let Jerome train with ‘his’ club,” Tuchel emphasized.
“You know his situation, you know what our situation was in the cup game. We have now given him the opportunity to train with us and then we will see,” said Tuchel, looking ahead. The whole thing will be “benevolently examined”.