The powerful striker has had sensational back-to-back seasons
with Stuttgart and has been linked with clubs all around Europe,
including Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and
Roma.
However, a poor Euro 2008 - his first showing on the big stage -
cooled much interest from around Europe, but Bayern Munich remained
in the hunt to lure yet another striker to the Allianz Arena, where
they already have Lucas Podolski, Luca Toni and Miroslav
Klose.
Bayern have inisted that they are not yet out of the hunt and will
swoop for Super Mario next year. Stuttgart, meanwhile, are
satisfied to have maintained their stance.
"We didn't want any team's money," said Stuttgart manager Horst
Heldt. "We wanted to keep Germany's player of the year."