- Carlo Ancelotti was sacked after Bayern Munich lost 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain
- The Italian manager left out stars such as Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels
- Boateng claims they found out ‘without any explanation’ shortly before kick-off
- ‘Five of us were told an hour and a half before the game that we would not play’
Jerome Boateng claims members of the Bayern Munich squad were left ‘shocked’ by Carlo Ancelotti’s team selection for their 3-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain in September.
Ancelotti was dismissed by the German giants just hours after the damaging defeat – the club’s heaviest in the Champions League group stages for 21 years.
Mats Hummels, Kingsley Coman, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery were left on the bench by Ancelotti in Paris, while Boateng was left out of the squad altogether.
Jerome Boateng was ‘shocked’ by the team Carlo Ancelotti picked against Paris Saint-Germain
The Italian manager was sacked just hours after the damaging Champions League defeat
Now the Germany defender has lifted the lid on how the stars were told of their omission, as well as their reaction to the bad news.
‘We sat in the meeting room and five of us were told an hour and a half before the game that we would not play, suddenly and without any explanation,’ Boateng told Suddeutsche Zeitung.
‘The players in question were shocked, you can say that.’
Neymar and Kylian Mbappe celebrate during the 3-0 victory at the Parc des Princes
Boateng made just 13 Bundesliga appearances last season after a shoulder injury sustained in December 2016 consigned him to three months on the sidelines.
The defender admits he struggled during his time off and even after returning to action.
‘That was a dark time, especially since I had almost no injuries for a number of years, and then suddenly everything went full throttle,’ he said.
‘I was able to play again after three months, but that was not the same Boateng. I felt like I had a different body.’