Thiago Alcantara has bid an emotional farewell to Bayern Munich as he closes in on a £25m move to Liverpool.
The Spain international will have his medical on Merseyside on Friday and it is widely understood he will complete the formalities on a four-year deal, for an initial £20million fee, later in the day.
“I have made the most difficult decision of my sports career,” said the midfielder in a video posted on Twitter.
“I will close this chapter on this wonderful club where I have grown as a player for seven years. Triumphs, joy and also hard times.
“But what I am most proud of is that I arrived in Munich as a young man filled with dreams and now I will leave completely fulfilled with a club, a history and a culture.
“Here I learned to love a tradition that I am now saying goodbye to, but which I will never forget.
Für immer dankbar, @fcbayern ! Bayern wird immer ein Stück Heimat für mich sein. #MiaSanMia
pic.twitter.com/aFlWADLvFQ
— Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) September 18, 2020
“I have experienced fantastic moments: in this city….with my Bavarian family who treated me so well and loved me every second.
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“My decision is purely of a sporting nature. As a soccer player I want new challenges to develop myself further.
“Bavaria will always be my home. Thank you FC Bayern.”
.@FCBayern
— Thiago Alcantara (@Thiago6) September 18, 2020
Bayern pushed the deal
TEAMtalk understands his transfer to Anfield was agreed after Bayern chiefs reached out to their Liverpool counterparts in a bid to break the deadlock over one of the most talked-about transfers of the summer.
Bayern have been convinced for weeks that Thiago and his advisers had agreed a deal to sign for Liverpool after he turned down a new contract with the German champions. But formal negotiations over the transfer were not progressing until the German champions made the move to speed up the deal.
Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness went public on Sunday to accuse Liverpool of using tactic akin to ‘blackmail’. He suggested the Reds were hoping to get the 29-year-old Champions League for a reduced fee in the final week of the transfer window.
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