Former Bayern Munich star Lothar Matthaus feels Philipp Lahm would be the perfect candidate for the position of sporting director at the Bundesliga champions at the end of his playing career.

The 32-year-old has stated on more than one occasion that he aims to retire when his current contract expires in 2018 and Matthaus believes he is the ideal long-term replacement for Matthias Sammer.

The latter served as sporting director at Bayern between 2012 and 2016, stepping down this summer due to health reasons.

"Lahm has to remain at Bayern after his playing days," Matthaus wrote in his weekly column for Sport Bild.

"He can be the link between the team, the board of directors and the club when he hangs up his boots. I think he would be better suited for this job than Sammer.

"Philipp has a much closer and warmer relationship with the team. People like him. He is always willing to talk and is perfect for the job due to his typical calm Bavarian way of acting. He is not a loud mouth. He represents everything Bayern stand for. 

"Sammer has always been a bit of a stranger. He occasionally managed to anger both the players and the fans with his behaviour."