Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has revealed Thomas Muller was the subject of a massive transfer bid this summer.
The forward was continually linked with a move to Manchester United - where he would have been reunited with the Bundesliga champions' former boss Louis van Gaal and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger - over the course of the transfer window.
Bayern have now admitted to receiving an incredible bid for the 25-year-old World Cup winner, but stopped short of confirming United were the interested party.
Rummenigga told Suddeutsche Zeitung: "I'm talking about figures which were very high indeed. If I were a bank manager then I would have had to accept it.
"But as a football club we allowed ourselves to close the door on it and this door is remaining closed - I can promise that to everybody.
"One thing is for certain, in view of the increased television money in England things are not going to get any easier for Bayern in future."
According to Deloitte, the Premier League has broken the £1 billion mark for transfer spending in a single year for the first time in 2015.
With England's top tier spending a total of £870 million this summer, almost double the next highest (Serie A, £450m), Rummenigge wants the Bundesliga's TV rights deal to increase before they are left out of sight and has urged ARD - a consortium of public broadcasters in Germany - to challenge Sky to drive the price up over €1bn in Germany.
"The ARD has allowed itself to lose the qualification matches of the national team and the Olympic rights," the 59-year-old added.
"There is a competition called the Bundesliga and there is no reason not to create a contest called television, especially with pay TV."
Rummenigge also revealed how impressed he was with the level of investment in youth football in England following a recent visit to the country.
"I have taken a look at Manchester City's youth academy and all I can say is it doesn't get any better than that," he continued.
"I have also visited Tottenham's, Arsenal's and Chelsea's and it's the same wherever you go. I can tell you that the English are going all out in terms of youth development."
No comments:
Post a Comment