Bayern stunned by Lahm’s retirement news

Bayern Munich have expressed their irritation at Philipp Lahm going public with his decision to retire at the end of the season, but stressed the defender will always be welcome at the Allianz Arena.
The 33-year-old announced in the wake of the 1-0 DFB-Pokal win over Wolfsburg on Tuesday that he will hang up his boots at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, and has rejected the opportunity to become the club’s new sporting director.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge did not see Lahm’s announcement coming and assumed both parties would make a joint statement, but he insisted the door will always be open to Lahm.
“Bayern Munich are surprised by the approach of Philipp Lahm and his adviser,” read a statement from Rummenigge.
“Uli Hoeness and I have held open, intensive and constructive talks with Philipp in recent months about a possible position as sporting director of our club. At the end of last week, he informed us that he is currently not available for such a position and that he would like an early termination of his player contract, which runs until June 2018, at the end of the current season.
“Until Tuesday we assumed that there would be a joint announcement on this decision by Philipp Lahm and Bayern Munich.
“Philipp Lahm has been an important player for Bayern Munich for over a decade. We are convinced that our captain will now concentrate fully with the team on the tough upcoming tasks in the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal. We would like to make clear that the door will always remain open for Philipp at Bayern.”
Bayern president Hoeness, meanwhile, said there was no hard feelings despite Lahm’s stance.