Agent for Bayern Munich’s Lucas Hernandez responds to criticism from Lothar Matthäus

After a rough start to his tenure at Bayern Munich after joining from Atletico Madrid, Lucas Hernandez has become a stalwart in the Rekordmeister’s back line in the past season and a half. He was unlucky to have been hampered with injury problems during his first two seasons at Bayern, but he’s shown just how important of a player he can be in Bayern’s back line under both Hansi Flick, and now, Julian Nagelsmann. With that said, he still has his own shortcomings, to which Lothar Matthäus recently criticized him of committing too many unnecessary fouls and being a bit too slow in 50/50 duels.

In a recent interview with Sport1, Hernandez’s agent, Manuel García Quilón, responded to what he felt was unjustified criticism from Matthäus. “Matthäus was a great player. I respect his opinion of Lucas but don’t share it. Lucas is without a doubt one of the best players in his position, for me one of the two or three best central defenders in the world. His performance is great! And at FC Bayern they are very happy with him,” he explained.

For his price tag of 80 million euros in 2019 when he was signed from Atletico Madrid, the expectation of Hernandez was incredibly high, becoming Bayern’s most expensive ever transfer. His persistent injury problems in the 2019/20 season kept him in and out of the starting lineup and in the 2020/21 season, he often times played third fiddle in defense behind both David Alaba and Jerome Boateng.

Nothing was really working in his favor in his first two seasons at the club, so it’s certainly caused question marks to pop up, but Quilón was adamant his client has shown his worth and is doing well at Bayern. “Lucas is doing very well in Munich, he’s happy and gets along great with everyone - with the coach, with his teammates, but also with those in charge,” he stressed.

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Hernandez’s current contract at Bayern runs through June 2024, but Quilón said there’s nothing to say that he wont wind up extending his contract beyond that date. A long term future at Bayern for the French international is certainly not out of the question. “FC Bayern is one of the best clubs in the world,” Quilón urged when he was asked whether or not there would be a long term commitment between Bayern and Hernandez.