Lucas Hernandez was unwittingly sucked into the unfolding story of tense contract negotiations between goalkeeper and captain Manuel Neuer and Bayern Munich when kicker reported that it was rumored he was earning a salary of some €24 million like Barcelona loanee Philippe Coutinho. Established players allegedly were emboldened in their own salary demands by the sums earned by the newcomers from Spain.
Since Hernandez has not exactly set the pitch on fire since arriving in Munich, that reported amount has drawn considerable scrutiny. Could Bayern’s front office — particularly Hasan Salihamidzic — be so reckless as to blow up the team’s wage structure for a player who has yet to prove he can overcome his injuries to justify his €80 record transfer fee?
Hernandez’s agent has now firmly rejected the claims about his client. Garcia Quilon told SPOX,
What is written there is completely false. Lucas does not earn €24 million a year at FC Bayern, neither gross nor net.
I don’t know how someone would come up with the idea that Lucas earns such a massive amount.
Quilon obviously would not reveal precisely how much Hernandez earned, but stated it was “definitely less.”
“Perhaps someone confused Lucas with another player or would simply like to harm him,” Quilon speculated.
SPOX also inquired for any news from Manuel Neuer’s camp, the source of all the speculation concerning Hernandez, but Neuer’s agency (presumably Thomas Kroth) declined to offer any specifics. Their response to SPOX was, “We have no comment on rumors. There is nothing new to report.”
Given that it is virtually certain that Coutinho will return to Barcelona at the end of the season, Bayern will not have to contend with further discontent over inflated wages.