After Bayern Munich’s Champions League loss to Villarreal on Tuesday, coach Julian Nagelsmann said that he got almost 400 death threats on Instagram alone.
The German champions and six-time European Cup/Champions League winners were beaten to a 1-1 draw at home, falling to Unai Emery’s side 2-1 on aggregate.
The 34-year-old detailed the criticism he experienced after Bayern’s shock Champions League exit before his side’s Easter Sunday match against Bundesliga strugglers Armenia.
‘I know I’ll get criticism from all sides at some point – that’s natural, and I can deal with it,’ Nagelsmann added.
‘But it’s not easy with 450 death threats on Instagram.’
‘It’s one thing if people want to kill me, but they also target my own mother, who doesn’t care about football,’ Nagelsmann added.’I’m not sure what you’re talking about. People lose all sense of decency as soon as the television is turned off. And they believe they are in the right, which is the weird part.’
Nagelsmann was then questioned if he has considered taking legal action against persons who appear to make threats to him and his family on social media on a daily basis.
‘I would never be done with it,’ he responded. Regardless of whether we win or lose, I get them after every game.
‘When we play with a back three, there are more death threats than when we play with a back four, and obviously, there are a few more every time we lose.’
Bayern Munich is nine points clear of Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga, as Nagelsmann’s side tries to capture their 10th German title in a row.
Hansi Flick, who will lead Germany in the World Cup in Qatar later this year, was replaced by the youthful coach in the summer.
