Head coach Niko Kovac offered a sympathetic assessment of his player's mood ahead of Borussia Dortmund's trip to VfB Stuttgart on Saturday, after new Germany boss Jürgen Klopp left the 23-year-old out of his 44-man squad for the upcoming Nations League fixtures.
"Maxi is understandably a bit down and disappointed," Kovac said. "I know that Maxi will work hard to prove himself. He's a brilliant player."
Kovac revealed he had known about the squad decisions in advance, having been kept informed by Klopp directly. "I was in contact with Jürgen Klopp. I knew two or three days in advance who would be in the squad and who wouldn't," he said. "The three who are in the squad are absolutely delighted." Those three are Dortmund teammates Nico Schlotterbeck, Felix Nmecha and Waldemar Anton.
Beier has earned ten caps for Germany and was part of former head coach Julian Nagelsmann's World Cup squad earlier this year, though his tournament involvement was limited to a single brief substitute appearance. His omission from Klopp's oversized first squad — named as the new coach begins reshaping the national team after Germany's shock World Cup exit — will sting given his consistent form for Dortmund since his move from Hoffenheim.
Kovac's comments reflect a coach keen to protect a player he has repeatedly backed since taking charge at Signal Iduna Park, with Beier having become an increasingly important attacking option under his management after struggling for a settled role under Kovac's predecessor.
Beier joined Dortmund from Hoffenheim in the summer of 2024 for a fee of around €28.5 million, and has previously credited Kovac's arrival with unlocking the best form of his career, having been shifted from a wide role into a more central striking position that better suits his game.
Klopp's decision to name an unusually large 44-man preliminary squad reflects the scale of the rebuild he has been tasked with since taking over from Nagelsmann following Germany's exit at the last-16 stage of the World Cup.
The expanded group has given opportunities to several players who might not ordinarily have been considered under previous regimes, even as established figures like Beier find themselves left out for now.