Franz Beckenbauer: "I apologise if what I said has been misunderstood."

Franz Beckenbauer has apologised for the comments attributed to him by German daily 'Bild', which led FC Barcelona to contact Bayern Munich, who passed on the following statement from its honorary president.

"I apologise if what I said has been misunderstood. I only meant that Barça will do whatever it can to get to the final, but nothing against the rules. When I say they will do anything, I mean putting pressure on their rival – something that is commonplace on the pitch and which I myself used to do as a player and then as a coach", explained the man nicknamed 'Der Kaiser'.

"Barça is one of the biggest and most honest clubs in the world and has my full admiration. I'm convinced that fair play will prevail in Wednesday's match. Both teams will do their all and come out all guns blazing to try to reach the final – that's all I meant to say", the statement continued.