"Paris trip not forbidden": Matthäus is also involved in "Gucci Gate" for Gnabry

The start of 2023 fails FC Bayern Munich thoroughly.

"Paris trip not forbidden": Matthäus is also involved in "Gucci Gate" for Gnabry

The start of 2023 fails FC Bayern Munich thoroughly. The record champions only get two points from two games. They still make headlines. For example Serge Gnabry, who travels to Paris and is properly reprimanded for it. That's not okay, says Lothar Matthäus.

Record national player Lothar Matthäus cannot understand the fuss about Serge Gnabry's fashion trip to Paris Fashion Week. "Certainly it wasn't the happiest time, and German national players are currently under particular observation. But what did he do?" asked the 61-year-old in the "Bild" newspaper. "Why shouldn't he fly to Paris if it's not forbidden? For me as a coach, such a trip is less bad than going around the houses at night."

Gnabry made the short trip last weekend and was clearly criticized for it by sports director Hasan Salihamidžić, the boulevard was happy about "Gucci-Gnabry". During the week, Gnabry was substituted early in the 1-1 draw against 1. FC Köln, and he will not be in the starting XI for this Saturday's game (6:30 p.m. / Sky) against Eintracht Frankfurt. "He had the chance to show a reaction. He wasn't outstanding against Cologne," said coach Julian Nagelsmann on Friday. The replacement of Gnabry at the break had only sporting reasons.

Matthäus said that the topic "wouldn't play any role for me in the line-up against Frankfurt. I would line up Gnabry - if I was fully convinced after the training impressions that he belongs in the starting eleven because he's better than the others." Gnabry was criticized "too hard", his trip was "relatively much less bad than what Manuel Neuer did," said Matthäus. National goalkeeper Neuer broke his lower leg on a ski tour after the World Cup and will be absent from the record champions for the rest of the season.

Injury worries, far less serious than Neuer's, also plague national player Leon Goretzka. The midfielder will be out of action against Frankfurt with muscular problems, and it is unclear when he will return. "I don't want to take any risks there. That's why he won't be available," said coach Julian Nagelsmann. He hopes that Goretzka will be able to play again next Wednesday in the DFB Cup round of 16 at FSV Mainz 05. "I relieve him of the pressure of having to play," he added, before going into some of the professional's fundamental problems.

"Leon has had a few construction sites since his time in Bochum. There are certain physical constitutions that sometimes result in muscular problems. He can't do anything about that. Sometimes you're born in a way that certain elements in the body and bone area aren't the way they are they can be. That's why some players never get injured and some get a lot of injuries."

Goretzka "unfortunately always has aches and pains," said Nagelsmann, who predicted the future: "That's the way it is and it probably won't be any different." The former Schalke player is "not a lazy player", but rather invests a lot in his body. Goretzka had visibly strengthened the muscles on his upper body during the first Corona phase.

Goretzka was out earlier this season due to knee surgery. And during the winter preparations, the training load had to be reduced at times. Nagelsmann only wants Goretzka to play in top form. "He needs 100 percent. You can see that very clearly in the game when he's not completely clear in his head and there are concerns that something will happen. Then the actions aren't what he imagines," explained the coach . In the past, World Cup participant Goretzka has also been absent from games with the national team due to minor injuries and complaints.