‘We had already submitted offers before the crisis’: Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirms contract talks with Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and David Alaba won’t be affected by the coronavirus
- Bayern Munich are in talks to renew the contracts of many of their top players
- Neuer, Alaba and Muller are set to enter the final year of their current deals
- However, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says talks are going ahead despite COVID-19
- The Bayern CEO promises that he won’t use the pandemic to push down wages
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
Contract talks with Bayern Munich‘s top players will not be affected by the coronavirus pandemic, the club’s CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed.
Captain Manuel Neuer, David Alaba and Thomas Muller are set to enter the final year of their current deals, along with fellow first-team stars Jerome Boateng, Javi Martinez, Thiago and Sven Ulreich.
The full extent of the coronavirus is yet to be felt in the world of football but Rummenigge has promised that the club will not use it as a tactic to push down wages when in renewal talks.
Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge promises he won’t use the pandemic to push down wages
‘For Manuel [Neuer], the same applies as for all the players whose contracts expire in the summer of 2021,’ Rummenigge told Merkur and TZ.
‘We had already submitted offers before the coronavirus crisis, and we don’t want to take advantage of the crisis now in order to push these well-deserving players down in price.
‘I think that all these players know that they have a very solid and very reliable employer in FC Bayern who deals with them very fairly.’
Jerome Boateng (left) and Thiago Alcantara (right) could also be in line to receive new deals
With the renewal talks, transfer speculation is expected to come with it with the likes of Neuer and Alaba being linked with moves away from Bayern.
Despite the links, Bayern boss Hansi Flick insists they have no desire of letting their club captain go.
‘Everyone knows what I think of Manuel,’ Flick said recently.
‘He is by far the best goalkeeper in the world, I have no doubts about that, so there is no alternative for me.’
Rummenigge dismissed reports suggesting Alaba would be swapped with City’s Leroy Sane
Alaba has been reportedly linked in a swap deal with Man City winger for Leroy Sane – a deal that Rummenigge described as ‘a fairytale’.
‘As I’ve heard, rumours are circulating that we would like to hand David Alaba over to Manchester City in exchange for Leroy Sane,’ he told TZ.
‘In addition, I say very clearly: This is Grimm’s Fairy Tale and has nothing to do with reality.’