Max Eberl’s Tom and Jerry GIF failed to convince Julian Nagelsmann to join Bayern Munich, says agent

Cast your mind back to 2024. Then-Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel was set to leave at the end of the season, Max Eberl was just appointed as board member for sport and FC Hollywood was in disarray. The first thing Eberl had to sort was finding a new head coach for the German giants and quick. So began the infamous 2024 coaching search, as multiple dozens of coaches were contacted and many rejected Die Rekordmeister in a fairly humiliating process.

One of the coaches that rejected Bayern was Julian Nagelsmann, who had been sacked by Bayern in favor of Tuchel just a year prior. Eberl pushed hard to get the Germany manager, but to no avail. A recent interview with Nagelsmann’s agent, Volker Struth, shed some light on Eberl’s push to get Nagelsmann and how it involved certain cartoon characters. Specifically, Tom and Jerry from Cartoon Network’s “Tom and Jerry” (shame on you if you have never heard of these two icons) were expected to play a crucial part.

“Of course, it took a few days of thinking things through and considering everything [to consider accepting the Bayern job],” Struth told German news site Bild, as captured by @iMiaSanMia. “During that time, Max kept sending me animated cartoon characters via WhatsApp. Tom and Jerry impatiently pacing the room, and someone constantly swiveling in a chair, staring up at the ceiling. Julian is very happy at the moment. His contract extends beyond the World Cup and Bayern currently have a good coach and are successful – but I wouldn’t rule it out [in the future].”

Truly, Eberl pulled out all the stops here. But even the comedic power of the legendary rivals was not enough to secure the highly rated German manager’s services after being burned once by Bayern. Do Nagelsmann and Struth not understand the comedic value in burning someone? If they are such non-believers in the art of Tom and Jerry comedy, perhaps Bayern are better off without those two Hannah Barbera hating, unsophisticated non-television watchers.