Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick’s short, but highly successful tenure with the German giants seems to be coming to an end after Flick announced his desire to leave the club at the end of the season.
“I would like to be released out of my contract at the end of the season,” Flick told Sky Deutschland. “We have had two fantastic years. I am delighted with my team and I am grateful to the club for being allowed to train such a team. It was important to me that the players find out from me, since there were lots of rumors swirling around.”
The 56-year-old manager has been at the helm of Bayern for only a year-and-a-half since he took over for Niko Kovač in November 2019. In less than a year, Flick went from interim manager to only the second coach ever to lead Bayern to a European treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League titles).
However, Flick’s deteriorating relationship with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has been at the center of Bayern’s title defenses this year—the first time that Bayern has ever held six trophies at once.
Following the club’s Champions League elimination by PSG on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, Flick reportedly met with club officials about his departure. Flick told the players following a 3-2 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday to move Bayern 13 points clear with five games left, virtually clinching its ninth straight league title.
The former German Football Association sporting director is one of the leading candidates to succeed Joachim Löw as Germany manager following the upcoming European championships this summer. Flick was Löw’s assistant manager from 2006 to 2014, which included Germany’s 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil.
“My future is absolutely not clear,” Flick said. “Of course the national team is an option every coach has to consider. I have to digest everything, the last few weeks weren’t easy.”
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