Hoeness concedes Hargreaves move is
back on agenda
Owen Hargreaves will sit down with Bayern Munich's
management in the next few days to determine his future with a
summer transfer to Old Trafford the most likely outcome. The
England midfielder has been responsive to Manchester United's
overtures for more than nine months now but Bayern have previously
insisted on holding him to the four-year deal he signed last
summer. However, in the wake of their Champions League exit to
Milan on Wednesday night Uli Hoeness, Bayern's executive director,
conceded it was time to talk.
Franz Beckenbauer, the president, intimated before the match that
he was inclined to accept a bid of £17-20m and he believed the
board felt the same. Hoeness said: "We will sit down calmly in the
next few days and discuss the situation at board level. If we are
prepared to sell Owen, then we go to negotiations with Manchester
United." The fee is large for a holding midfielder but Hoeness
added: "What is money when you lose games?"
The answer, should Bayern fail to improve on their current fourth
place in the Bundesliga, is that an influx of income would be
needed. German clubs are the poor relations of Europe's big four.
Their grounds may be full but admission prices are low. The economy
is booming but television money, following a lack of competition
since the collapse of the Kirsch empire, is poor.
The effects are being felt on the pitch. Since Bayern won the
Champions League in 2001, no German club has reached the
semi-finals. It is hardly surprising Hargreaves wants to follow
Michael Ballack into the Premiership. "I will sit down with them
and we will discuss how my future looks," he said. His future looks
to be outside Germany.
