BERLIN: Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac admitted Wednesday that he had telephoned Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to apologise over his public pursuit of the English club's German striker Leroy Sane.
Kovac had said he was confident a deal could be done for the 23-year-old, comments which his own president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge condemned as "not helpful in the negotiations".
"I phoned Pep Guardiola and I apologised to him because I was too offensive, I will refrain in the future," Kovac said Wednesday after Bayern had lost to Tottenham on penalties in the final of a pre-season tournament.
Last week, Guardiola had urged Sane to decide if he wants to stay at English champions or go to Bayern after the unsettled star scored twice in a 6-1 rout of Hong Kong's Kitchee.
"He's a guy who I appreciate a lot, I like him a lot. I think he has incredible gap to develop, incredible in terms of being connected in the game," Guardiola said.
"We want him, we want him to stay. That's the reason why for more than one year he has an offer waiting to talk with his agent to extend the contract.
"Beyond that it's not in my hands, he has to decide. If he wants to stay and reach an agreement it's good, if he wants to leave we can decide what he can do. Hopefully he stays."