Oliver Kahn has responded to claims that he was mocking Barcelona after he was spotted smiling aft his Bayern Munich were drawn alongside them at the Champions League draw on Thursday.
The Bavarian club's CEO appeared amused as the Bundesliga outfit learned their fate, which prompted an irate response from Spanish outlet Sport.
The media mouthpiece of Barca claimed it was an 'unusual response' from the former Germany goalkeeper, but he has since responded to the claims.
As reported by German publication BILD, Kahn has responded by saying: 'This interpretation has come completely out of nowhere.
'Robert Lewandowski left us for FC Barcelona just a few weeks ago, now the lot brings us back together in the phase of Champions League groups.
'I smiled at such rarities of football. I have the utmost respect for Robert and FC Barcelona, these matches will be a celebration for fans of both teams and football fans in general.'
In a group also containing Italian giants Inter Milan and Czech side Viktoria Plzen, the Bavarians will surely go into the competition as favourite to come out of the group on top.
Barca are a different side to the one that limped out of the tournament and into the Europa League last season, with Lewandowski just one of several notable additions to that group.
But the German champions have a strong Champions League record against the Blaugrana - having won eight of their 11 clashes in the competitions - including of course the infamous 8-2 drubbing in 2020.
And although he was excited to begin the campaign, Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann remained cautious of his opponents, saying: 'It is a very demanding group and full of challenges.
'Inter has strengthened itself again well. This is a club that has already celebrated many international successes and has regained strength in recent years. With Barcelona, of course, the history with Lewy is already prescribed.
'I hope we can achieve results similar to those of the last few years against Barça. Plzen are the Czech champions. We can't wait to start.'
