Hasan Salihamidzic explains why Bayern brought back Douglas Costa
Douglas Costa will make Bayern stronger on the wings than they were last season, according to club boss Hasan Salihamidzic.
Bayern München sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has addressed rumors surrounding Douglas Costa's return to Allianz Arena and explained why the German champions made a late move to sign the 30-year-old on loan from Juventus.
Costa, who played for the Bavarians from 2015 until 2017 when he joined Juventus, was labelled a 'mercenary' by now former Bayern president Uli Hoeness after his departure.
Therefore, it came as a surprise to many that Bayern chose to re-sign Costa. Rumors have circulated that the players lobbied for the return of the 30-year-old, but Salihamidzic denies this.
"This is a fairy tale. At Bayern, the tasks and competences have been clearly allocated for decades. The team play football, the club management looks after the squad. Squad planning is not a matter for the team," Salihamidzic told Kicker and added:
"Thanks to him, we are even stronger on the wings than we were last season. We now have four players with different profiles, who are strong dribblers. That makes us unpredictable."
Costa played 77 games with 14 goals and 27 assists to his name during his last stint with Bayern.