Harry Kane is said to be at the centre of dressing room strife at Bayern Munich as Thomas Tuchel's reign in Bavaria crumbles.
The club announced today that Thomas Tuchel will leave Bayern at the end of the season, a year before his contract expires.
The Bavarians' season is in freefall as three successive defeats leave them eight points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and facing a Champions League last-16 exit. A 3-0 defeat to Leverkusen was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Lazio last week, and the crisis deepened when they suffered a shock 3-2 defeat away to VFL Bochum on Sunday.
BILD revealed that six key players were in the anti-Tuchel camp, with six others supporting him. Here's who the Bavarian coach's supporters and opponents are.
Anti-Tuchel faction
According to Bild, one big name who is opposing Tuchel is Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller . Muller, 34, has been at Bayern his entire career and has been vocal in his support for Tuchel in public but has been tight-lipped about his playing time.
The vice-captain has been relegated to a secondary role, mixing starts with substitute appearances. He has only played around 40% of available minutes, as his free-flowing attacking nature does not fit into Tuchel's overall plan.
The next influential player against Tuchel is third captain Joshua Kimmich .
Their relationship began to fray in the summer when Bayern were keen to sign a new No. 6, despite Kimmich being only 29 and still a top player. He recently didn’t start against Bayer Leverkusen – despite risking his health to be fit after a shoulder injury – and was substituted after 63 minutes against Bochum.
Kimmick got into a heated argument with assistant coach Zsolt Low, and was saved from a fight by 'team-mates holding him back'.
Players in the anti-Tuchel camp also include Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Matthijs De Ligt and Mathys Tel.
Goretzka and De Ligt have suffered diminished status following the switch from Julian Nagelsmann to Tuchel. Bild claim De Ligt could be sold in the summer, while Goretzka feels 'blown away' and struggles to understand why Bayern have axed Nagelsmann.
Former Arsenal man Gnabry has made just 11 appearances in all competitions - a far cry from his heyday in previous seasons when he scored twice in the run-up to the campaign - so his discontent is hardly surprising.
Mathys Tel, BILD reports, is still training hard but after a strong start to the season his role has been reduced to a minor one.
Tuchel supporters
Despite all the criticism, Tuchel still has players who support him to the end. It is worth remembering that before the last 3 games, they had lost only 2 matches in the Bundesliga and were unbeaten in the Champions League.
Harry Kane leads the charge behind the beleaguered manager. Tuchel met the striker at his home in the summer and was enthusiastic about convincing the England star.
Tuchel revealed a few days ago that Kane is currently unhappy with his lack of game time - but he has still had a brilliant start to life in Germany with 29 goals and is loyal to Tuchel.
The former Tottenham star's performance against Leverkusen was labelled a 'disaster' by BILD but he is having an excellent season overall.
Alongside Kane is captain Manuel Neuer, who has pledged his loyalty to Tuchel for the way he stood by him through injury troubles. Neuer has been restored as Bayern's number one goalkeeper.
Neuer missed much of last season and the start of this season with a broken leg but has returned to action and been restored as their number one goalkeeper.
Eric Dier has not been at Bayern long and is grateful to have been given the chance by Tuchel. He has made more appearances for Bayern (5) than he did all season for Tottenham (4).
Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Raphael Guerrero complete the six players who endorse Tuchel's authority.
Guerrero played under Tuchel at Borussia Dortmund, and Musiala are rated by BILD as 'favourites' for the Bayern boss.
Tuchel is 'looking for a connection' with Musiala in training, recognising that he is one of Europe's top talents and can improve further.
Sane appeared frustrated and at odds with his teammates but still supported Tuchel.
HOANG HUNG
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