Former Ghana international, Sammy Kuffour, has revealed how Lothar Matthaus helped him to secure a move to Bayern Munich.
Kuffour joined the Bundesliga giants after parting ways with Torino in the summer of 1993.
The centre-back was moved to the first team a year later before joining Nurenburg on a season-long loan.
On his return from the loan spell, Kuffour became a regular part of the team between 1996 and 2005 where he left for Italy on a free transfer.
“When I got to Germany, I was training with the first team and he told me, ‘You are good.’ I was feeling cold so he had to go to the chief garage and bring me clothes and took me to shopping for two days,” Kuffour recounted in an interview with Joy Sports.
"I was coming from Torino, who won a big money and [Karl-Heinz] Rummenigge didn’t want to pay the money and Lothar said, ‘We know that the guy is good. If you don’t want to pay, I am paying the money from my pocket to sign him so when he develops, you have to pay me ten times [what I paid]. Then Bayern immediately signed me.
“I was very young but he saw the potential in me and playing alongside him was a dream come true because when I was young, watching him play the 1990 World Cup and become the best player of the tournament, World Player of the Year and standing on the same training ground with him was a blessing.”
Kuffour won six Bundesliga titles with Bayern during his stay at the club while also clinching the UEFA Champions League title in 2001.
Lothar meanwhile was unveiled on Tuesday after purchasing the majority stake in Ghana Premier League side Accra Lions.