Bayern have confirmed that they tried to sign Everton full-back
Leighton
Baines, but the player turned down the chance to move to
Munich.
Baines famously missed out on a place in England's squad for
last summer's World Cup finals after becoming homesick during the
pre-tournament training camp in Switzerland.
That always made a move to the Bundesliga unlikely, and Bayern
chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has now confirmed that the player
had no intention of moving to Germany.
"We cannot force him (Baines) to join us. He would rather live
in Liverpool than Munich, and that's that," Rummenigge said.
Rummenigge insists his side will be a force to be reckoned with
in 2011 following the signing of Luiz Gustavo from Hoffenheim and
the return to fitness of Arjen
Robben. Bayern struggled to fifth place at the end of the first
half of the season and they currently trail league leaders Borussia
Dortmund by 14 points.
Although the chances of them successfully defending their league
title this season appear slim, Rummenigge says there is still all
to play for and that Bayern will start to show their true form
during the coming year.
"We are going to be attacking in all three competitions,'' he
proclaimed. "With Robben and Gustavo, we are stronger than we were
in the first half of the season. We want to knock Inter (Milan) out
of the Champions League, win the DFB-Pokal and then we will have to
see about the league.
"I am convinced that we will gain far more points than we did in
the first half of the season.''
Gustavo linked up with his new team-mates on Monday at their
winter training camp in Qatar. The Brazilian has joined for a
reported fee of ¬15 million from Bundesliga rivals Hoffenheim,
although some eyebrows have been raised about the arrival of the
23-year-old, who has yet to be capped by his national team.
However, Rummenigge is convinced that Gustavo will strengthen
his side
"We only sign players who guarantee us improvement,'' he told
Bild. "Gustavo can help us out immediately either at left
full-back or at centre-back. He can also play in the centre of the
midfield. The lad has character and he was the player (coach) Louis
van Gaal really wanted.
"Seriously, we are not going to sign any more players in
January."
As part of the deal, Bayern full-back David
Alaba has joined Hoffenheim on loan until the end of the
season.