Bayern chairman rules out Messi bid

BERLIN – Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out bidding for superstar Lionel Messi, who has a buyout clause worth €250 million in his Barcelona contract.

Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Messi has heavily been linked with a move away from Barcelona. Net photo.

TodayCSKA Moscow vs Bayern 7pm SS5Juventus vs FC Copenhagen 9:45pmMan City vs Viktoria Plzen 9:45pm SS6Leverkusen vs Man United 9:45pm SS3PSG vs OlympiakosAnderlecht vs BenficaReal Madrid vs Galatasaray 9:45pm SS5Sh. Donetsk vs RSociedadBERLIN – Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has ruled out bidding for superstar Lionel Messi, who has a buyout clause worth €250 million in his Barcelona contract."We are talking about simply absurd figures, a transfer fee that is even higher than what we spent on Javi Martinez. We won’t go there,” Rummenigge told German Sky Sports."Barcelona’s president Sandro Rosell is an old friend and I know they would never sell Messi. He is a saint at Barcelona. "And I think it would be in Messi’s best interest to stay at Barcelona. He fits in perfectly there.”Rumours of a Bayern bid for Messi, which would see the Argentinian link up with his former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, have been circulating in Germany.The Bavarians could probably afford the enormous sum. A fortnight ago Bayern revealed they had posted a record €432.8 million in sales during last season’s campaign.They became the first German club to claim the treble when they won the Champions League, a 23rd German championship and the DFB Cup.Bayern won 3-0 at German rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, in a repeat of May’s Champions League final, and are four points clear in the Bundesliga having already reached the knock-out phase in Europe.Bayern, who advanced earlier this month in the Champions League with their fourth straight win in the group, have 12 points with two games left to play, three ahead of Manchester City in second.