Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has poured cold water on fan suggestions that the club could move for Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the 34-year-old is 'too old' to be a genuine transfer target.
Ronaldo continues to be one of the most effective goalscorers in the world despite a relative dip since swapping Real Madrid for Juventus 18 months ago. He has netted 20 goals in 20 Serie A appearances this term, and was briefly one of the topics on the agenda at a recent fan event at which Hainer fielded questions from supporters.
Hainer, however, was straightforward in his explanation as to why the move couldn't happen from Bayern's perspective.
"Of course there are a lot of names in the press, which is understandable," he said, according to Passauer Neue Presse. "Ronaldo should be a bit too old for us."
Hainer succeeded Uli Hoeness in November last year, but it seems the club's stance on a move for Ronaldo is uniform. The former president was asked earlier this season why the club didn't move for him, and gave a notably similar response, as per Calcio Mercato.
"CR7 is 33 years old, and he would have cost us 100 million euro," he said. "We would have taken him for this figure if he was 24 years old."
Onto transfers that might actually happen, current president Hainer also gave an update on the club's long-reported interest in Manchester City's Leroy Sane, 90min revealed last month that the player is anxious to get a move over the line, and it is expected that Bayern will field at least one more offer for the 24-year-old to lure him away from Manchester.
Hainer, however, says it's a case of wait and see, since he has only just returned to training from an ACL injury which has kept him sidelined virtually all season.
"Leroy Sane is a great player that we are interested in, which is also known," he admitted. "Now you have to see how he will come back after his injury.
"According to my information he is now starting to train again but is not yet back in team training. However, it can be assumed that we will prepare the team not only for the next season but for the future I don't just mean the German championship, because we want to win the Champions League again."
For more from Robbie Copeland, follow him on Twitter!
Source :
90min
