Daily Schmankerl: Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal competing for Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha?; Robert Lewandowski wants Lionel Messi back at FC Barcelona; Leon Goretzka backs Jamal Musiala; Leroy Sané touts Julian Nagelsmann; & MORE!

Bayern a contender for Zaha? (Foot Mercato via @iMiaSanMia)

In what can only be described as a crazy rumor, Bayern Munich is allegedly interested in Crystal Palace forward Wilfred Zaha.

In addition to Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal FC, and AS Monaco are also allegedly interested in the 30-year-old attacker:

Bayern, Dortmund, Arsenal and Monaco have expressed their interest in Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha (30), who will be a free agent this summer. The player’s priority is to play in the Champions League.

Of all the attacking options rumored to be on the transfer market this summer, Zaha seems like one of the least attractive options for Bayern Munich (no offense Wilfried) considering all of the talent the club already has wing.

Goretzka supports talented teammate Musiala (UEFA.com)

Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka can see that Jamal Musiala is not having the easiest time these days, but he knows just good the attacking midfielder can be.

“Jamal might be one of the biggest talents Germany has ever had because he’s already able to constantly deliver good performances. He doesn’t have many ups and downs. The fact that he’s already in our starting XI every week shows that. He helps us achieve our goals. He’s extremely good on the ball, in narrow spaces, and he creates a lot of danger. He has outstanding qualities. If he keeps working like that and stays fit, the sky’s the limit for him,” Goretzka said.

Goretzka also thinks part of his responsibility as a veteran is to help younger players.

“It’s my task to help younger players and to serve as an example. Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben were the players who helped me when I came to Bayern. So I see it as my task. I won’t tell him how to dribble or what to do every day, because he knows best what to do, but I want to help him on the pitch, give him that strength or be there for him when he has a question, and help him in situations he doesn’t know about yet, like all the media things that can be expected of him in the future. All of us in the team want to help him.”

Thiago jealous of Nunez !? (Football Transfers)

Former Bayern Munich midfielder and current Liverpool FC star Thiago Alcantara admitted that he is a little envious of teammate Darwin Nunez.

When you are into the game, when you are living the game, you just react,” Thiago told Liverpool’s Walk On magazine. “You cannot think too much, but running is not my thing. My thing is about making the team play slow or fast when we have to.”

“For the best players in the world - and I don’t have this - it is about trying to score 40 goals a season. I say to Darwin [Nunez], I never have had the feeling in my life to shoot the ball 30 metres in front of me and say I will win this race to get it.” Indeed, admits Thiago, “I feel jealous sometimes of that, for sure. But this is life, we always want what we don’t have.”

Midfielders want to be strikers and vice versa, eh?

Bavarian Podcast Works: Postgame Show — Manchester City 3-0 Bayern Munich ( Bavarian Football Works)

Well that’s it then. Bayern Munich are out of the UEFA Champions League. Since winning the treble in 2020, the quarter finals seem like they’ve become an impassible wall that this squad cannot get past. Manchester City showed this group of players a different level of football as they overwhelmed possibly the most mediocre Bayern Munich team we’ve seen in years. The second leg is reduced to a formality now.

Here are our talking points from the game:

• The horrible decision to bench Thomas Muller in a game this big.
• Dayot Upamecano’s huge mistake compared to the season he’s been having.
• The abject performance of the offense. Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman — all not good enough.
• “Captain” Joshua Kimmich’s complete lack of leadership on the big stage.
• INNN’s conspiracy theory about Kimmich.
• How much blame does the board bear for this elimination?
• Shouldn’t this loss also come back on Thomas Tuchel?

Sané touts Nagelsmann’s chance for a bounce back (Sport1 via @iMiaSanMia)

In a recent interview with Sport1’s Kerry Hau, Bayern Munich star Leroy Sané talked about his relationship with former coach Julian Nagelsmann and why he thinks we have not heard the last of the ex-Bayern manager.

“(I) have a very good relationship with Julian — I was sorry that he had to go in the end because we as a team sometimes couldn’t deliver the results we had hoped for. I always felt supported by him. I wish him the best for the future,” said Sané. “I’m sure that he will still have many, many successful years as a coach ahead of him at the top international level.”

Ter Stegen keeping close contact with Neuer (@iMiaSanMia)

FC Barcelona Marc-André ter Stegen recently commented on his relationship with injured Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and wearing Neuer’s “No.1” jersey while playing for Germany during the last international break.

“We texted each other briefly after his injury. I really hope his rehab goes well and he comes back quickly, but also that he takes his time to be at 100%. I wish him that as a colleague, friend and a long-time teammate in the national team,” said Ter Stegen. “I was asked (about wearing the No. 1 kit), I said okay and now I have the shirt. There’s nothing more to say. In the end, it’s always the performance that counts. I’ve always formulated my goal (to be #1) clearly and I’ll do everything I can to achieve it.”

Lewy wants Messi return at Barca (90Min.com)

Former Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski is ready to welcome Lionel Messi back to FC Barcelona.

“If he comes back to Barcelona, it will not only be for the fans but for the players something amazing because his place is here in Barcelona,” Lewandowski told Sport (as captured by 90Min.com. “I don’t know what’s going on... I hope that next season we can play together because I know that Leo is the guy who can do (create) something from nothing, and of course, we need those kinds of players, for sure. For me, I say that Lionel Messi always belongs to Barcelona.”

Messi, of course, is rumored to be thinking of a move back to Catalonia.

Bavarian Podcast Works: Weekend Warm-up Podcast Season 2, Episode 39 (Bavarian Football Works)

Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg are turning into a Rocky-type franchise at this point.

The teams battled in the DFB-Pokal and will now carry the fracas over to the Bundesliga in what amounts to a very key game for Bayern Munich’s title hopes. That game, however, is just one of several talking points to emerge from this week.

Let’s dig in. This is what we have on tap for this episode:

• A preview of the Bundesliga match between Bayern Munich and SC Freiburg. Tensions should be high after Freiburg’s upset win in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday.
• The terrible optics of Thomas Tuchel’s decision to start Joao Cancelo against SC Freiburg.
• Reports say Tuchel wants a new striker.
• Why Tuchel’s job is going to get a lot harder in the coming days and weeks.