Ex-Bayern Munich sporting director doesn’t believe Kingsley Coman will stay at the club

Kingsley Coman’s future with Bayern Munich has been in serious question for the better part of the past 12 months. The French winger has been plagued with injury problems and in the buildup to the summer transfer window, his representatives made it clear that they wanted a move abroad, preferably to the Premier League in England.

Coman’s current contract at Bayern expires in June 2023 and his wage demands have well exceeded what the club is ready to offer him, in a similar situation to David Alaba’s contract negotiations before he went to Real Madrid.

In a recent appearance speaking on Bild TV (via SPOX), former Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger said that he genuinely believes Coman will be leaving the club. Nerlinger served as Bayern’s sporting director from 2009-2012 and he said he “hardly” thinks Coman will stay. He feels that Bayern can’t afford to wait much longer to sell him as his market value could depreciate, and he referenced Bayern’s “tendency” to wind up letting players go for free.

“Bayern have a team of the highest quality. They had a tendency to lose players for free. But you can’t do that in the long run, you have to yourself Separate from players if the offer is right. Coman is an excellent player, but given the overall situation, I think Bayern will consider giving him up,” Nerlinger explained.

Jerome Boateng eventually wound up joining Olympique Lyon in Ligue 1 this summer, but Nerlinger was critical of Bayern not letting him go to join Paris Saint-Germain back in 2019 when he was linked with the Parisians. At the time, PSG was prepared to pay 40 million euros, which in hindsight, is a considerable fee Bayern missed out on. Still, though, Boateng’s importance in the 2019/2020 treble-winning season cannot be understated. “Paris would have paid almost twice as much back then. In my opinion, a missed opportunity. But sometimes FC Bayern also sets standards. Lyon is a club with a long tradition, Boateng can be happy with sport there,” Nerlinger said.

Coman currently earns a salary of roughly €12 million and he was asking for a raise to €20 million per year, which is unrealistic for a multitude of reasons. The resurgence of Leroy Sane, the quick upraise of Jamal Musiala, and Serge Gnabry’s fine run of form have left Coman low on Julian Nagelsmann’s pecking order. From Bayern’s perspective, especially having experienced financial losses due to the coronavirus pandemic, there would be no reason to agree to give Coman that much and selling him would be the most feasible option at this point. However, if Nagelsmann has different idea and really wants Coman to stay, he could convince his representatives to agree on a salary well below €20 million.

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