Was planning to leave anyway? Axed Bundesliga keeper hits back at his club

Oh oh, dark clouds are gathering over usually harmonious Heidenheim. The reason is an 'Instagram' post by long-time first-choice goalkeeper Kevin Müller. 

Source: Instagram (@kmuellersen), screenshot

Shortly before, FCH had officially announced the return of Diant Ramaj on loan from Dortmund. In the club’s statement about the transfer, CEO Holger Sanwald explained that "Kevin Müller informed our head coach Frank Schmidt, goalkeeping coach Bernd Weng, and me on the first day of pre-season training, in a joint personal conversation, that he would consider a move to the US Major League Soccer if a possible offer were to come in." Therefore, they "decided on Diant Ramaj as the new number one."

This is a view that Müller strongly disagrees with in his statement. He admits he has "never made a secret" of being "a huge USA fan." Nevertheless, it is not certain that he would even accept a hypothetical offer from the MLS. Instead, he would have preferred "a sporting competition for the spot in goal, based on performance." 

The 34-year-old also points to his contract extension with FCH in January and makes it clear that the region around the Brenz has become home for him and his family during his ten years at the club.

Despite this, Heidenheim is now demoting a deserving player who, according to both sides, has always been open and honest. This creates the impression that a pretext was sought to both give goalkeeping talent Ramaj playing time and, at the same time, indirectly encourage Müller to leave. 

However, the latter is not willing to give up without a fight. He says he will "continue to give everything in training." That doesn’t sound like the Rostock native is planning to quit soon and do his club a favor.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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