Jamie Carragher dubbed Bayern Munich executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge ‘a joke’ for his incendiary comments about his club’s former target, Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade.
Newcastle stole a march on the Bundesliga giants in their pursuit of the 23-year-old over the summer transfer window, breaking Stuttgart’s record selling fee to secure his services for £65million.
Woltemade’s arrival on Tyneside then allowed Alexander Isak to complete his dreamed-of £125m move to Liverpool amid a hostile stalemate between the two entities.
But despite Woltemade making a promising start in the Premier League by netting two goals in his first three appearances in black and white, Rummenigge poured cold water on the idea that he would prove a worthwhile investment last week.
The Bayern chief called Newcastle ‘idiots’ for accepting fee from Stuttgart he implied was outlandish, and suggested that Woltemade’s former club had been making ‘unacceptable’ demands in their negotiations with the serial champions.
Since the comments, Woltemade has scored a further two goals in both Champions League and Premier League action.
Nick Woltemade has made a bright start to life at Newcastle since his move from Stuttgart
But Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been keen to sow doubt over whether he was worth his fee
And it was the German’s run-out in Newcastle’s 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon that had Carragher seeing red over Rummenigge’s gracelessness.
‘I really like (Woltemade), and I actually saw that quote a few days ago and it angered me and I am not a Newcastle United supporter,’ Carragher said on punditry duty for Sky Sports.
‘I think it’s a joke really, coming from someone who is part of a football club, in terms of Bayern Munich, a really respected football club.
‘He shouldn’t be speaking about, especially, another German player like that so disrespectfully. That would have been all over the news in Germany, and his family and friends are there.
‘That’s our job, we are pundits, not somebody associated with such a fantastic club. That is really disrespectful, and when I saw that, I thought ‘Do you know what? I really hope that lad shoves those words down his mouth.’
‘And at the start of his Premier League career, it looks like he is going to.’
Rummenigge was not alone in seeming to have taken umbrage with Woltemade’s move to Newcastle at Bayern, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and sporting director Christoph Freund also making jibes in the German press.
‘(Woltemade) isn’t worth the fee,’ Hoeness said in August. ‘(His transfer to Newcastle) only happened because of the money flowing from Saudi Arabia.’
Jamie Carragher fumed at the disrespect he believed that Rummenigge had shown in his words
Woltemade has been focusing on performing on the pitch and netted two more goals this week
Bayern meanwhile drafted in Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson in a deal worth £14.3m for the term
Freund similarly suggested that financials had played a large role in the decision, claiming: ‘It’s always the player’s decision. We at Bayern Munich are very, very attractive, we notice that again and again when we talk to players.
‘Financially, the Premier League is in a different league. You have discussions, you have a certain relationship.
‘Ultimately, it’s the player’s decision as to what’s the best step for his career. We’re not involved in that.
‘The sums of money involved; how much money is at stake; that they have brutal opportunities in the Premier League. Not just two or three clubs, many clubs. Newcastle is a good club, but not the top tier.’
After missing out on Woltemade, Bayern opted to choose an understudy for Harry Kane from Premier League ranks, making a season-long loan move for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson for £14.3m.
Bayern have an obligation to buy the Senegal international for £56.2m should he make a set number of appearances.
Woltemade was defended too in the wake of the comments by his team-mate Anthony Gordon, who stated that he found Rummenigge’s assertion ‘weird’.
‘I don’t know why you’d comment on a player who is not at your club,’ Gordon said after Newcastle 4-0 win against Union Saint-Gilloise. ‘It’s a bit stupid to be honest, especially when the player has started really well.
‘Had he started really poorly then you make that comment, but he’s scored three goals in four games, so it was a bit of a weird comment.’
