Brentford star - and £20m Liverpool target - sacks agent after controversy

Brentford striker Kevin Schade has parted ways with agent Maik Barthel following remarks made by the Eurosportmanagement CEO about Union Berlin's appointment of Marie-Louise Eta as interim assistant coach.

The Bundesliga side sacked coach Urs Fischer earlier this month and last week appointed Marie-Louise Eta as a temporary coach to work alongside interim manager Marco Grote, with both being promoted to the role from the under-19 team.

Eta, who won the Champions League and three Bundesliga titles as a player at Turbine Potsdam, becomes the first female coach in Bundesliga history.

Schade's agent Barthel, who has previously represented Barcelona megastar Robert Lewandoski, criticised the appointment of Eta in a social media post. Sky Sports reports that writing on X, he said: "An assistant coach has to be in the locker room @fcunion? Please don't make German football look ridiculous. It was already enough that the team's hierarchy was completely destroyed with transfers."

The post was soon deleted from the account with a new message that read: "I have to rephrase it. Making a co-coach an issue will not help @fcunion to put the destroyed team hierarchy back in order."

In the aftermath of the controversial statement, the Bees forward decided to sack Eurosportmanagement for looking after his affairs. He told Sky Germany: "It's right, I parted ways with my agent, because I absolutely do not share his attitude and views and I cannot accept them as they are. I stand for openness, equality and diversity. And that's how I want to feel represented."

The 21-year-old's decision was applauded by Brentford fans, with the #HerGameToo group at the club labelling the news 'great stuff' online.

Schade, who has struggled with an abductor injury this season, remains a relatively new face in West London, having only arrived at the club in January. Brentford brought Schade in on loan from Freiburg in a deal that saw the club obliged to pay a club record £20 million fee to sign the player permanently this summer.

At the turn of the year, Thomas Frank's side fended off competition from Liverpool to work with Schade and his team and bring him to the Gtech Community Stadium. Speaking after the move to the Brentford media team, Schade said: “Brentford wanted me. They really wanted me. It’s a good step. It’s a Premier League club who are doing really well at the moment.

“To go to somewhere like Liverpool is not good for me because I would not play. Fresh from an injury, I need time and games to be 100 per cent fit."