Lothar Matthäus believes Uli Hoeneß deliberately aimed to provoke a reaction from Jamal Musiala with his recent comments about the Bayern Munich midfielder.

Speaking on Sky90, the former Germany international suggested that Hoeneß was attempting to get under Musiala’s skin and provide him with additional motivation to return to his best form.

“Uli is taking a little dig at him and trying to get under his skin a bit. It’s part of the process not just to wrap him in cotton wool, but also to let him face a bit of adversity,” Matthäus explained.

The 65-year-old also defended Hoeneß’ approach, arguing that Musiala should not always be shielded from criticism while he works his way back to full fitness.

“I thought it was okay for Uli to say that, because we shouldn’t always sugarcoat everything and just wait until he’s back,” he added.

Musiala has endured a difficult period with injuries, having struggled to regain consistent fitness since the Club World Cup. Matthäus pointed to the midfielder’s limited involvement over the past 17 months, during which he has managed just three or four appearances between spells on the sidelines.

The 23-year-old has also been unavailable for the past seven weeks with a muscle injury, leading Matthäus to question whether there is more to the situation than initially suggested.

“With that statement, Uli was deliberately trying to provoke a reaction. If I were in Jamal’s position, that would be motivation enough for me to show Uli that I’m back. And that would make Uli happy,” Matthäus concluded.