Merkel: What happened to me was like Kompany, and if I were a player I would have worked with him

The former chancellor recalled a memory from 2019

Angela Merkel has sent a message of solidarity to Vincent Kompany, wishing the Bayern Munich manager a swift recovery and urging that he be given the time to heal without any pressure to rush back.

The former German Chancellor hailed the Belgian's work and his clear stances against discrimination. Had she been a footballer herself, at men's or women's level, Kompany is the coach she would have chosen.

Speaking to German website sport 1, Merkel said of Kompany: "At first, I felt very sad when I heard about what happened to him. I wish him a swift recovery, and that he is surrounded by people who give him the space and time needed to heal, without any pressure. I myself know something about the need for time."

"I have great respect for the work of Vincent Kompany, as well as for his clear stances against discrimination and on many other issues," she continued. "And I can imagine that if I were a footballer, whether a man or a woman, he would be exactly the kind of coach I would want to work with."

Merkel drew a line between Kompany's situation and her own experience. The body, she said, sends clear signals when a person can no longer carry the pressure.

"Vincent Kompany certainly did not choose to stay at home of his own accord," she added. "Rather, it took an incident to happen for his body to finally send him a clear message: stop! And that is exactly what happened to me too."

Back in 2019, television cameras caught Merkel shaking during a military honours ceremony. She put it down to a release of accumulated tension, perhaps tied to the death of her mother, or to the realisation that she was preparing to leave her post.