Bayern's verdict on Jerome Boateng's return amidst fan protests

Jerome Boateng, a defender who supposedly excelled in training with Bayern Munich, has been told the club will not re-sign him.

Bayern began talking to Jerome Boateng about a possible re-signing earlier this week in response to their defensive injury issue. Since Lyon did not renew the German defender’s contract during the summer, he is now a free agent.

The 35-year-old had even been participating in team practices this week. The Bavarians’ sporting director Christoph Freund also commented on Tuesday that it would be a good narrative if he came back to the club.

There was a time when it seemed that his acquisition was a formality, given that Thomas Tuchel had been pressing for this transaction owing to a lack of center-back defender choices.

What did Bayern say?

Nonetheless, the Bavarian club no longer intends to pursue a deal for Boateng. In a statement issued on Friday, the current German champions made it official that they would not be re-signing their former player.

“Jerome Boateng will not be returning to the FC Bayern Munich squad. The club made this decision on Friday and informed the long-serving former Bayern player.

“Around two weeks ago, all four centre-backs in Bayern’s first-team squad were unavailable for the cup match at Preussen Munster because of injury. Boateng, currently without a club, was subsequently invited to join in with training at Bayern.

“Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim are now playing without pain again, while Matthijs de Ligt is also well on the road to recovery, meaning the personnel situation in the centre of defence has eased.

“In light of all aspects, Bayern has now decided not to sign Boateng. At the same time, as a distinguished former player, he has been offered the chance to continue to maintain his fitness at the club. Boateng has presented himself in good physical condition”, the statement read.

Fans threatened match boycott

Boateng helped the club to two UEFA Champions League and nine Bundesliga championships throughout his 363 games played for the squad. But what had seemed like a comeback turned out to be really a last-ditch effort by the Bundesliga champions to shore up a defense that is vulnerable.

Although he is now embroiled in a court matter involving domestic abuse, the club tried to re-sign him and received criticism for doing so. If Bayern did not end contract talks with the German defender by Saturday, their fans even threatened to boycott the club’s match against Freiburg.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Sven Simon