“Then you’d have to double Olise’s salary”: criticism of Uli Hoeneß’s comments on Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala

Uli Hoeneß's comments about Jamal Musiala continue to spark public debate. Lothar Matthäus has now criticised them too.

In his Sky column, Germany's record appearance holder took issue with Hoeneß questioning whether Musiala's annual salary still matched his performances, given his medical record.

"If Hoeneß was referring to value for money, then, on the other hand, you would have to at least double, if not triple, the salary of someone like Michael Olise, because his market value has risen from the €50 million transfer fee paid for him to €150–200 million since his signing," Matthäus wrote.

Every contract carries a risk for both club and player because "when you sign a contract, you don't know where things will go", Matthäus said. For Olise, "things have been going upwards continuously for a year and a half", but the other side of the coin also had to be considered.

"If Musiala earns too much because he is currently unavailable, then Olise or other Bayern players who are overperforming would, on the other hand, earn too little," the Sky pundit reasoned. That was another reason he viewed Hoeneß's comments critically.

Matthäus could understand the Bayern patron's comments in principle. On Sunday evening on Sky90, he suggested Hoeneß had by no means wanted to attack Musiala with his comments, but rather to give him extra motivation.

"He's needling him a little. It's not just about wrapping him in cotton wool; it's also about fighting through adversity sometimes. I think Uli was looking to create that adversity with this comment. I also think it's fine for him to say something like that, because we can't just sugar-coat things now and somehow wait until he comes back. He has to show it now. He has to get through this," Matthäus explained.

Musiala has suffered repeated setbacks since his serious injury during the Club World Cup in summer 2025 and has been struggling with a torn muscle fibre since the end of September. It also emerged, following two collapses during preparations for the current season, that the Germany international has a neurological dysfunction that causes brief, temporary but treatable absence seizures. These are a form of epileptic seizure.

After the upcoming international break at the end of the month, Musiala is expected to return to the pitch when Bayern face 1. FC Köln on 21 November. According to Hoeneß, coach Vincent Kompany, who recently spent several days in hospital with meningeal irritation, could also be back on the touchline then.

Musiala has played just four matches this season. He scored once and provided one assist in the 7-0 thrashing of Union Berlin, but has had no other goal contributions.