“He thought I was a rat” – Hertha’s Mads Pedersen details bitter Augsburg falling-out with Sandro Wagner

Mads Pedersen, a left-back who played for FC Augsburg for six years, detailed a bitter falling-out with former coach Sandro Wagner in an interview with Danish outlet Bold.dk. After struggling for playing time in his final season, Pedersen felt a dispute with Wagner was a major factor in his limited appearances. During a pre-season friendly against Pisa, Pedersen was told to warm up despite claiming he was not in condition to play.

When he refused to come on, the coach accused him of leaking information to the media. Tensions escalated, and Pedersen claims Wagner began referring to the two players who were consistently omitted from the matchday squads as "rats." Following a dispute over a hamstring cramp, Pedersen was left out of all matchday squads and eventually removed from the training ground.

The incident, coupled with Augsburg's poor results, led to Wagner's dismissal as head coach. Pedersen left Augsburg after just 12 league games, expressing disappointment in his departure from the club.