Long negotiations and a barb from Uli Hoeneß: Konrad Laimer reveals the background to his extension at Bayern Munich

"In the end, more and more is always written than is actually true in the end. That's the business. You have to do your job too, and that's a good thing," Laimer told reporters during a media round on the South Korean island of Jeju. "I was always very relaxed. For a long time there was no contact at all and then at some point towards the end there was more contact again. Then it also happened relatively quickly that an agreement was reached, because from my side there was never anything against it. I always wanted to stay here."

Talk over an extension to his contract, which runs until 2027, started at the beginning of the year. At one stage, reports claimed the 29-year-old Austrian defensive all-rounder was demanding exorbitant wages, prompting Uli Hoeneß to respond publicly in May. "Konny is a player I love very much," Hoeneß said: "But he is not Maradona."

An agreement was finally reached during the World Cup, before the contract extension until 2029 was officially announced on 20 July. "I'm obviously happy that everything has worked out like this now and that everything is now done and dusted and I can now do again what I enjoy, and that's playing football. It's extremely enjoyable here," said Laimer, who joined Munich from RB Leipzig on a free transfer in 2023.

Konrad Laimer is on an Asia tour with Bayern Munich

There has still been no reconciliation with Hoeneß. "No, there hasn't. But that was never an issue for me anyway. We've always had a quick little chat, back then again at the title celebration with a bit of fun, and that was it, nothing more than that."

For now, Laimer is with Bayern Munich on their Asia tour, where they face Jeju SK FC on 4 August and Aston Villa on 7 August. Once they return to Munich, friendlies against RB Leipzig and 1. FC Heidenheim await before the first competitive match on 22 August: the Supercup against Borussia Dortmund.

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