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Juan Bernat has responded to the comments Uli Hoeness made about him during Bayern Munich’s front office press conference held a day prior to their 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg. During the press conference, Hoeness made a point to single out Bernat and criticize his performance against Sevilla in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals last season. He claimed that it was after that performance (which Bayern won 2-1) that Bayern’s front office decided that they would get rid of him during the summer transfer window, which ultimately wound up happening as he went to Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite the “weal and woe” of Bayern Munich being decided by Bernat’s departure, as Hoeness described it, Bernat was incredibly diplomatic in his response to the criticism from the club’s president. Speaking to Bild (via az), he used the opportunity to express his gratitude of spending four years with Bayern and wished the club nothing but the best:
Yes, I heard about it, but I have nothing to say about it. I was taught as a child to be grateful. I will always be grateful to Bayern and the fans for the four years I was allowed to spend there. I wish Bayern all the best, lots of luck. I have very good memories of my time there.
One of Bernat’s agents, Jose Tarraga also spoke in response to the comments from Hoeness and was a bit more critical in defense of the defender. He felt that Hoeness could’ve shown a lot more respect for one of the club’s former players:
I think that all of us -- but especially President Hoeness -- must take care that when we talk about footballers we do so with respect. I think that is the least that one can ask. I think that the statements by President Hoeness are everything but felicitous and in no way worthy of the president of a great club.
Hopefully, given the diplomatic nature of the responses from both Bernat and his agent, this is the last we hear of this from all parties. Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Hasan Salihamidzic certainly had every right to hold the press conference and speak freely in defense of Bayern, but there’s no point in dragging Bernat into anything further than Hoeness already has with his comments.