‘Pep’s Exit Won’t Cause Stars To Leave’

Pep Guardiola’s exit from Bayern Munich won’t be an excuse for top stars like Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Arturo Vidal and so on to leave the club come the end of the season, Bayern president has said.

Bayern had been hoping to convince the Catalan coach to sign a new contract to extend his deal beyond next summer, but the Bundesliga champions confirmed on Sunday that Guardiola would be leaving at the end of the 2015-16 season with Carlo Ancelotti replacing him.

When Guardiola returned from a one-year sabbatical in New York and began his three-year stint at Bayern in the summer of 2013, he insisted on adding his former Barcelona player Thiago Alcantara to a squad which had just won the Treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and Champions League.

On Friday, prior to the announcement of Guardiola’s departure, Bayern tied Thomas Muller, Javi Martinez and Jerome Boateng to the club until 2021, while Xabi Alonso also prolonged his contract for one more year.

Guardiola has been linked with a move to the Premier League, with Manchester City, Man United, Chelsea and even Arsenal reportedly interested in the 44-year-old.

But Rummenigge confirmed Guardiola will not be taking any key Bayern players with him to his next club, telling Bild: “I can rule that out. All players have contracts beyond the end of the season.”

Rummenigge was philosophical on Guardiola’s decision to leave, saying: “You should not forget: Pep’s a young person, and Bayern [is] only his second club as a coach. He wants to make new experiences. It was similar at Barcelona. Pep seeks the challenge.”

Speculation regarding Guardiola’s future began almost a year ago, with the Bavarians initially confident that the Catalan would stay at the Allianz Arena. But in recent weeks the tone of Rummenigge’s statements changed, and he told Bild this was down to a change in the Catalan’s communication with the club from September on.