'Got his a** kicked' - Kimmich blasted amid Bayern exit rumours
Tom Weber
- Updated: 11 Dec 2023 16:40 GMT
- 3 min read
Bayern star Joshua Kimmich is increasingly coming under fire in his native Germany - and the player might need a change of scenery.
It has been an odd season for Bayern. If you look at the majority of their results and the way the likes of Harry Kane and Leroy Sane have performed this term, you would be forgiven to think that the perennial Bundesliga champions are their same old, dominant selves. Yet, strangely, there have often been games in which Thomas Tuchel's men have looked anything but convincing.
Even if we look beyond the DFB-Pokal humiliation against middling third-division side Saarbrucken, Bayern struggled against Galatasaray, Copenhagen, Monchengladbach, Leipzig, Leverkusen and in their most recent game which ended in an embarrassing 5-1 drubbing against Frankfurt.
One man partly to blame for this is Joshua Kimmich. The 28-year-old has endured a quite steep drop-off in his performance levels this term and this was especially evident against Galatasaray in the Champions League and again versus Frankfurt. The 28-year-old does not offer the same stability and security in possession of years past and not even his spectacular goal against the Eagles at the weekend was enough to paper over his atrocious showing.
Kimmich blasted
This hasn't gone unnoticed by German pundits. 1990 World Cup winner and ex-Bayern star Lothar Matthaus raged about Kimmich on Sky90, blasting the club's vice-captain for shying away from his post-match media responsibilities. "Not only on the pitch but even post-match Kimmich isn't as visible as he used to be."
"I'm sure that has its reasons. He's hiding." Previously, Kimmich "had usually been - at least until a year or six months ago - someone who clearly and openly expressed his views in front of the camera even after defeats."
"Over the last two years, Kimmich has been properly getting his a** kicked, including by us [the media] because he just hasn't been performing at the level we expect from him."
The 28-year-old has often been linked with an exit and 2024 might be the perfect time for him to seek a change of scenery. The midfielder continues to face contract uncertainty because of Bayern's reluctance to give him a sizeable pay rise due to his performances, which could see him sold in the summer, though long-time admirers Barcelona have reportedly moved on from him.
