Barcelona sporting director Eric Abidal is reportedly keen on signing Thiago Alcantara from Bayern Munich.
The future of Thiago Alcantara at Bayern Munich has been subject to much speculation in the past couple of months. The Bavarians are reportedly willing to listen to offers for the Spaniard, who has also remained tight-lipped about his future with the German champions.
According to a report in Sport, Eric Abidal is interested in bringing Thiago back to Barcelona. The Frenchman was recently appointed as sporting director of the Spanish club, and he believes the club needs a midfielder of Thiago’s ilk, despite the recent signing of Arthur. The Catalan outlet reported that the Spanish midfielder also wants to return to his boyhood club.
Thiago joined Bayern Munich from Barcelona in 2013. The Spaniard endured a difficult initial two years at the club due to injury issues. However, in the last three seasons he has become a key player for Bayern Munich.
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This was especially true under Carlo Ancelotti, who made Thiago the main man in his midfield. However, after the departure of the Italian manager, Thiago suffered another serious injury which kept him out of action for three months.
After his recovery, Thiago struggled to break into the starting eleven on a regular basis under Jupp Heynckes. But he did feature in some of the big games at the end of the season.
The Spaniard was subject to a lot of criticism at the end of the season for his relatively poor performances. Lothar Matthaus even claimed that Bayern Munich should try to offload the Spanish midfielder, saying he isn’t capable of performing in big matches.
Since the end of the season, multiple German reports have revealed that Bayern Munich are ready to listen offers for the Spanish midfielder. He has been linked with Juventus, Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid. However, it is widely suggested that Thiago would prefer to go back to his old club. Bayern are expected to demand a very high fee as Thiago is still 27 and has a long contract with the German champions.
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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insisted last month that Thiago remains in Bayern’s plans for next season. Earlier this week, Hasan Salihamidzic also reassured that Thiago has a future at Bayern Munich. However, he further added that the club is open to departures in the midfield department. Bayern have already signed Leon Goretzka, and Renato Sanches is also set to stay after his poor loan spell at Swansea. It’s highly likely that Thiago will leave the club, but right now there is nothing concrete about the interest from other clubs in the Spanish midfielder.