According to padel court criticism
Bayern boss Eberl shoots sharply against RB officials
January 16, 2025 – 11:56 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Bayern’s sports director Max Eberl did not want to leave Red Bull boss Oliver Mintzlaff’s criticism uncommented. The 51-year-old shot back.
After FC Bayern’s convincing 5-0 win against TSG Hoffenheim in the Allianz Arena, sports director Max Eberl found clear words in the direction of his former employer RB Leipzig. Eberl responded to the tip of RB supervisory board boss Oliver Mintzlaff, who claimed that the best thing Eberl left behind during his time in Leipzig was a padel court.
“I heard it too,” said Eberl and decisively questioned the statement. He pointed to the players signed during his tenure, including Loïs Openda, Christoph Baumgartner, Castello Lukeba and Xavi Simons. He didn’t know whether it was fair to the players that “the padel tennis court was the only good thing,” Eberl sharply countered Mintzlaff’s statements. He also cited the contract extension with Dani Olmo, who later moved to Barça for a high transfer fee, as evidence of his work.
Mintzlaff had made the comment about the padel court the day before when Jürgen Klopp was introduced as “Head of Global Soccer” in Salzburg. Eberl, who worked as managing director of sports at RB Leipzig from December 2022 to September 2023, ironically offered Mintzlaff to deepen the discussion. Eberl said he would be happy to talk to Mintzlaff if he doesn’t see the players so well. “Then let’s get her here.”
Eberl sees Klopp’s commitment as a global leader in the Red Bull Group and his know-how as a major gain for Leipzig and the other Red Bull clubs. With the company behind them and Klopp on their side, the Saxons are a serious competitor in German football. Nevertheless, Eberl put the expectations of the new, strong man at Red Bull into perspective.
“Jürgen is fantastic. We don’t need to talk about his life’s work. But he’s not a messiah either,” emphasized Eberl. Klopp will not now “lead all Red Bull clubs in the individual countries to the championship title,” he continued, emphasizing that the former Liverpool coach had said he would not act as a coach for his new employer.