'Nailed the language!': Eric Dier 'speaks with German accent' in post-match interview

Eric Dier has sparked debate online after football fans noticed the England star speaking with a German accent weeks after he joined Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Dier, 30, made his debut for Bayern in a 1-0 win against Union Berlin on Wednesday evening, and spoke with German broadcasters afterwards.

The defender described his debut as a "very proud moment", although it wasn't his on-field contribution that led to his name trending on social media.

Commenting beneath a clip of Dier speaking post-match, one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote "Bro developed a German accent after 1 game", while another joked "Fair pay to him. Nailed the language after a week".

Dier, who speaks fluent Portuguese, is not the first English player or coach to appear to speak with an accent shortly after moving abroad.

Former England manager Steve McClaren went viral while managing in the Netherlands, during the late 2000s, when he conducted an interview with a Dutch twang to his voice.

Several years later, former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton fell into the same trap, speaking with a French accent at press conference for this then loan club Marseille.

Barton told radio station talkSPORT in 2017 that he was asked by the club translator not to speak in his natural scouse tone and to slow his speech so that he would be easier to translate.

"I started going slowly and nobody's laughing, everybody's nodding, my translator is buzzing off the pace I'm setting, he ain't going 'slow down', so I'm like 'I'm nailing this. I'm nailing it,'" he said.

"I've got no clue I'm speaking like an absolute imbecile at this stage. I start catching myself, you know, doing hand signals, and being very gallic with my hands, and I've looked up to see my brother and my mate, and they're gone.

He added: "So, bear in mind I must be 15 minutes in here, I've answered a load of questions, it's being recorded, and I've had that 'Oh no. I've just done a Steve McClaren'.

"I had the slow realisation of that, and I said before going out my biggest fear was doing a McClaren interview!"

Barton himself poked fun at Dier's interview on X, quoting a clip of it alongside the caption: "Work to do on the accent big man."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…