Bayern Munich stars pay tribute to absent friends after Club World Cup win
World champions Bayern Munich ensured their entire squad felt part of the celebrations as they completed a stunning clean sweep of silverware.
Thursday night’s 1-0 win over Tigres in Qatar saw Bayern add the FIFA Club World Cup to the Bundesliga, German Cup, Champions League, German Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup in a ‘sextuple’ triumph.
And those involved in their latest win held up shirts bearing the names of those missing through injury, positive Covid-19 tests or personal reasons in the dressing room.
This included defender Jerome Boateng, who was granted leave from the squad prior to the final following the death of his former girlfriend Kasia Lenhardt.
The 25-year-old was found dead by police at a luxury apartment thought to belong to Boateng in Berlin’s upmarket Charlottenburg neighbourhood on Tuesday night.
The couple had only split up last week Lenhardt killed herself on her son Noah’s sixth birthday. Police say they are not treating her death as suspicious.
Boateng, 32, had been dating Lenhardt for 15 months before their relationship imploded on February 2 amid a vicious fight that saw the couple use social media and the press to exchange blows.
Boateng had accused Lenhardt of sabotaging his relationship with ex-girlfriend Rebecca Silvera and his family before they started dating, and of blackmailing him into staying with her.
Meanwhile, Lenhardt – who had the footballer’s name tattooed on her ribcage – branded her ex ‘the devil’ and vowed to ‘speak up’ and ‘fight back’ once she had recovered from the break-up.
Bayern coach Hansi Flick granted Boateng permission to leave the squad before the final and return to Germany after he had played in their 2-0 semi-final win over Al-Ahly.
A shirt with ‘Boateng 17’ on the back was held up in the dressing room to show the defender his team-mates were thinking of him.
Other shirts held up included that of Thomas Muller, who is isolating after testing positive for Covid-19 ahead of the final.
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Injured colleagues Leon Goretzka, Javi Martinez, Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou also featured in the shirt tribute, which was posted on Bayern’s social media channels.
A goal from Benjamin Pavard guided Bayern past the challenge of Mexican club Tigres to pick up another piece of silverware.