Lahm finds a salary of almost 5 million euros per year too extravagant for Nagelsmann

'Nagelsmann was the obvious candidate. We've known since his time at 1899 Hoffenheim, when he was not even thirty, that he is extremely talented,' writes Lahm in his column for The Guardian.

The former top defender does point to the fee of the new national coach. 'Flick would have earned 6.5 million euros per year, Nagelsmann is reportedly on 4.8 million euros. That's not good, it's too much. Of course, you can't do anything about the dynamics that exist between competing clubs, but associations like the DFB should not go along with this. More than two million euros per year is not necessary.'

In a lengthy argument, Lahm points out that the DFB must pay attention to the basics of football. 'The sport must be brought closer to the center of society. The main goal of the association is to encourage young and old to play sports.'

Nagelsmann will make his debut as the head coach of Germany on Saturday in a friendly match against the United States, the host of next year's European Championship.