Following Julian Nagelsmann’s firing by Bayern Munich on Friday, his girlfriend is now set to to quit the German newspaper BILD. On Thursday night, there were rumours that Nagelsmann would lose his job as manager of Bayern, and in the early hours of Friday, the Bundesliga giants confirmed the shocking news.

Julian Nagelsmann took over as Bayern Munich’s head coach from Hansi Flick in the summer of 2021, guiding the club to the Bundesliga title last season. However, the Bavarians are second to rivals Borussia Dortmund in the league standings currently, who are top of the league with two points. The two heavyweights clash after the international break, which will be newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel’s first game in charge of the defending league champions.

Julian Nagelsmann’s girlfriend part of the cause for his Bayern sacking

Bayern Munich’s decision to fire Julian Nagelsmann is made even more perplexing to outsiders in light of their 3-0 aggregate victory over Paris Saint-Germain to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, where they will face Manchester City next month. Bayern fans would attest that the team has not performed at its customary high level since the World Cup, despite hints from people close to the club that all was not well behind the scenes.

Thomas Tuchel, former manager of Dortmund, PSG, and Chelsea, has also been already appointed as Nagelmann’s successor on a two-year deal. Former Bayern star Markus Babbel, has claimed that Nagelsmann’s romance with Munich-based BILD’s writer Lena Wurzenberger was a contributing factor to his sacking. Babbel said:

“I know that Nagelsmann’s relationship with a BILD reporter was a huge topic in the dressing room. It didn’t go down well at all that he was with her. His girlfriend was therefore a big problem for Bayern. There was a lack of trust because some players just weren’t able to communicate what they were thinking anymore. Because they were afraid that everything would end up in the newspaper.”

Julian Nagelsmann divorced his wife last summer and began dating 30-year-old football journalist who worked at BILD. Wurzenberger worked as a reporter for BILD covering Bayern, until she was forced to step down from the position last year because of her romantic relationship with the very club’s manager she covered. It was also being claimed that Nagelsmann’s relationship with Wurzenberger created a ‘lack of trust’ in the Bayern locker room.

A statement made by publisher Axel Springer Verlag on Wurzenberger’s resignation to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur read:

“We have complied with [her request to leave] and wish her every success in the future.”

There was a sense of fear that information was leaking from the dressing room earlier this month when the club’s tactical plans started to appear in BILD. Although there is no evidence that Nagelsmann or Wurzenberger were responsible for the leaks, the episode did little to improve the manager’s standing within the team. While she stepped down from covering Bayern Munich, Wurzenberger continued to work for BILD, but is now scheduled to leave at the end of the month.