Thiago: I have never said I'm leaving Bayern

Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara appeared to distance himself from reports of a switch to Liverpool ahead of Spain's Nations League match against Ukraine.

Thiago starred as Bayern completed a treble with a 1-0 Champions League triumph over Paris Saint-Germain last month, but has been persistently linked with a move to the Premier League winners. Bayern chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge even said he expected the 29-year-old to depart, but Thiago said he viewed the club as his "home" after Thursday's 1-1 draw against Germany in Stuttgart.

Speaking at a news conference alongside national team boss Luis Enrique on Saturday, the ex-Barcelona man appeared to tire of a familiar line of enquiry.

"I have never said that I am leaving Bayern," he said. "Every year you [journalists] put me at a different club. For me, my future is tomorrow's game and there is nothing more to say. I neither care nor am I interested [in the speculation]. What interests me is tomorrow."

Talk over Thiago's future is likely to regain top billing in the gossip columns after Lionel Messi announced, somewhat reluctantly, that he will be staying at Barcelona.

 

September 3, 2020

Thiago still retains affection for his boyhood club, who Bayern thumped 8-2 in the quarter-finals of the Champions League to spark weeks of tempestuous fallout at Camp Nou.

"Any decision that is beneficial for the club you support is wonderful for that team, in this case Barcelona," he said. "We have seen what he has said. I have nothing to evaluate. We have to respect it. I am at another club, so that neither goes nor comes to me [to comment]."