Rummenigge on Musiala, Bellingham, Xaxi, and Ancelotti

Bayern Munich legend and former club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge shares his opinion on legendary coaches and young players who making waves right now.

Jamal Musiala: Yes but we need him to keep his feet on the ground, we must avoid giving him too much worship at this stage of his career. God has given him an excessive talent, but he has not yet reached his ceiling. We’ll be doing him a disservice if we start revering him now because it doesn’t help. The only thing we will achieve with that is creating counterproductive expectations.

Jude Bellingham: Real Madrid must be congratulated for his signing. He scores, he assists, he runs, fights, recovers the ball... He does everything well. He decided to join Madrid early on and I can only say that Dortmund were very happy when they understood that Bayern no longer had the option of getting involved.

Xabi Alonso

Yes and no. Yes because he took charge of Leverkusen when they were second to last, no because I know him well from his active time at Bayern and I was always convinced that he would end up being a successful coach. Let’s not forget that he worked with the best coaches in the world: Guardiola, Ancelotti, Benítez, Mourinho. Since he is a very intelligent person, he absorbed every detail and then created his formula based on it. The title is deserved.

And it doesn’t surprise me. Xabi is a gifted guy, but at the same time very grateful too. I remember we gave him a two-year contract when he arrived in Munich. Then I met with his representative. Iñaki is also very nice by the way. It was all very serious at all times, but it only took us five minutes to agree to continue one more season with us. He made it clear to us that he wanted to hang up his boots at Bayern and that’s how it happened. That day our captain Philipp Lahm also said goodbye and I asked all the club employees to give them a standing ovation after their last training session. Not one was missing. Bayern knows who Xabi is. And Xabi knows who we are at Bayern.

Carlo Ancelotti

"Nothing makes Ancelotti lose his temper, he is a gentleman from head to toe (...) There was no need to sign any contract because his word is worth more than ink"

Carlo is a beautiful person. What impressed me most was his stoic serenity. Nothing ever makes him lose his temper. He is a gentleman from head to toe. I remember that he shook our hands when we were negotiating for him to become coach of Bayern and there was no need to sign any contract because his word is worth more than ink. There were also no agents like you find today in droves when you meet with a footballer and they want to get a cut. I have never heard anyone say a bad word about Carlo in my entire life. And with his slow character, he fits perfectly into a club, sometimes also as turbulent, as Real Madrid. It’s a shame that we were forced to part ways and I remember very well that I was the one who had to tell him. We both shed a few tears and then left a phrase that I will never forget. He told me that he was no longer my boss, but that he would still be my friend. And to know that we will continue to be friends forever.