Bayern Munich's Carlo Ancelotti addresses recent talks of a rift with Thomas Muller and backs Renato Sanches' loan to Swansea.
MUNICH -- Carlo Ancelotti has said he understands why Thomas Muller was unhappy at losing his place in Bayern Munich team but insisted "no one is guaranteed a spot in the starting XI."
Muller, 27, had said "he's not in demand at Bayern" after being dropped to the bench for the game at Werder Bremen.
Ancelotti played down Muller's recent comments at his news conference before Bayern's trip to play Hoffenheim on Saturday.
"When a player doesn't play, of course he is not happy," Ancelotti said. "He complained a little bit after the game, this is absolutely normal. I prefer to have an unhappy player when he doesn't play, than to have a player happy to stay on the bench.
"I understand this really well, I had a lot of experience about this because I was a player -- when I didn't play I wasn't happy."
And Ancelotti played down any talk of a rift between him and Muller.
"I speak with him every day -- we have no problem," he said. "Muller is an important player for us, I know his history but we have a lot of important players here.
"As I said, it is not possible for us to play all season with only 11 players. There will be rotation, sometimes Muller is going to play, sometimes Muller or others have to go on the bench -- when they are all fit, someone unfortunately has to sit in the stands.
"I would like to put all my players in the first XI, but this is not possible. I have the responsibility to choose the lineup and for this reason all my players are important, even when they don't play sometimes.
Carlo Ancelotti insists Thomas Muller will play his share of matches.
"I read a statistic that he played 73 percent of games, but this doesn't mean he only showed his quality for 73 percent of games and 27 per cent he didn't. This is not mathematics. No one is guaranteed a spot in the first XI."
Muller has already been linked with a move to Arsenal and Chelsea in the next transfer window, while German team manager Oliver Bierhoff said Muller "must always play."
Ancelotti confirmed he had heard of Bierhoff's comments, but said "don't worry."
He added: "I want to thank all the people that give me advice, Bierhoff and the others -- but honestly I don't need advice, I know what I am doing."
In team news, Ancelotti confirmed that David Alaba will miss the Hoffenheim game but will return to individual training next week. Brazil defender Rafinha is set to replace the injured Austria international in the side.
"Rafinha can play left-back," Ancelotti said. "He had a good game against Borussia Dortmund in the Super Cup. I have lots of faith in him, it's no problem."
Ancelotti also said James Rodriguez was fit but unlikely to feature after his exertions with the Colombia national team in midweek.
"The most important fact is that he's fit but it will be difficult for him to play," he confirmed. "He had no problems vs. Brazil, but if he can't play tomorrow he will play next week."
Jerome Boateng's comeback is on hold for another week as the central defender has not played since the final day of last season after a muscle injury.
The FC crew discuss Thomas Muller's role at Bayern Munich and whether or not his future is away from the club.
"He trained well this week, but we think he needs another week's training to be available for the next game," he said.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti backed Renato Sanches' decision to leave the club on loan for Swansea City and believes his former assistant Paul Clement can help bring out the best in the midfielder.
"I think it was a good choice from Renato," he said. "We suggested he go there because he has the possibility to play. He missed playing games last year and has the possibility of playing in the Premier League.
"It is a really competitive competition; the fact that Clement knows him will help him to show his best.
"He was not able to show his best quality here because he didn't have a lot of time or space to play. We are really interested in this season because he is our player. I am sure he will show his quality in Swansea."
Mark Lovell covers Bayern Munich for ESPN FC. Follow him on Twitter: @LovellLowdown.
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Source: espn.co.uk