Sadio Mane 'intimidated' Julian Nagelsmann during furious dressing room confrontation before Bayern Munich sacking - Reports

Former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann reportedly looked intimidated when Sadio Mane confronted him about his lack of game time following the UEFA Champions League Round of-16 second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

According to German news outlet Bild (via the Daily Mail), Mane confronted Nagelsmann in the dressing room after Bayern Munich’s 2-0 win over PSG in Munich on March 8.

The former Liverpool man was furious after playing only 13 minutes in the game. The dressing room looked on in shock as the drama unfolded, noting that the 35-year-old manager appeared to be intimidated by Mane.

Roughly three weeks after the alleged dressing room row, Nagelsmann was dismissed by the Bayern Munich board. On Saturday (March 25), former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was installed in Nagelsmann’s place. It's believed that the board was not impressed with Nagelsmann's style of play, noting that the Bavarians had become fragile under him, especially in the Bundesliga.

Mane, meanwhile, has struggled to play his best football in Germany. Not only has his season been marred by injuries, but he has also played out of position at times. Nagelsmann often deployed Mane down the middle instead of allowing him to stretch his legs down the wings.

Mane has played 28 games for the German champions this season, scoring 11 times and providing five assists. He will hope to play more frequently under Tuchel and help his team dethrone Borussia Dortmund atop the Bundesliga summit.

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Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel interested in signing Mateo Kovacic

New Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel is keeping a keen eye on Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic, the Evening Standard has reported.

The central midfielder will be out of contract in June 2024, but the Blues are yet to commence renewal talks. Chelsea need to offload a few players to balance their books, and its believed that they could let Kovacic leave for the right price to book a profit.

Tuchel, who was in charge of Chelsea for over a year and a half before getting sacked in September 2022, is fond of the Croatian midfielder. Tuchel deployed Kovacic regularly during his time at Stamford Bridge, and the Croat repaid the faith by helping win the 2020-21 Champions League.

Kovacic played 66 games under the Bayern Munich manager at Chelsea, scoring twice and claiming six assists.