Bayern Munich’s Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says Hasan Salihamidizic got “his trainer” in Julian Nagelsmann

Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge will complete his tenure with the club at the end of this month and will go down as one of the club’s most important figures.

Aside of just acting as CEO, Rummenigge had to act as a mediator between former manager Hansi Flick and sporting director Hasan “Brazzo” Salihamidzic over the last year-and-a-half.

The conflict between the two men overshadowed the team’s performance at times, as the coach and the sporting director could not get aligned on squad planning.

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“As the sporting director, Hasan is primarily responsible for ensuring that the squad wins national titles and competes for titles internationally. He also has to keep an eye on young talent and finances,” Rummenigge said in an interview with Bild. “As for transfers, he may have set the bar a little too high for himself at times. I have to protect him because Uli Hoeneß and I never had a 100 percent quota for transfers. In addition, with Nagelsmann now comes ‘his’ trainer. That will strengthen his position.”

Rummenigge’s characterization of Nagelsmann as “Brazzo’s trainer” was interesting. After butting heads with Flick so may times on just about every roster move, it has been theorized that Salihamidzic would seek out a new manager who either did not want to be involved in transfer or who would go along with the sporting director’s plan.

Whatever the case, CEO Oliver Kahn and club president Herbert Hainer will now fill the roles that Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness used to play in mediating transfers and roster planning issues. Chances are, times will not be as tumultuous between Salihamidzic and Nagelsmann as they were with Brazzo and Flick.