Vidal deal not complete yet, says Bayern chief Rummenigge

Bayern Munich are interested in signing Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal, but chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has denied that a deal had already been agreed.

Vidal has been strongly linked with Bayern this week, as the Bundesliga champions seek to sign a replacement for long-serving vice-captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has joined Manchester United.

Rummenigge is hopeful that Vidal – who won the Copa America with Chile earlier this month – will move to the Allianz Arena, but stressed there is plenty of work left to do before he puts pen to paper.

“It is not a secret that we’re interested in this player, but I’ve read that everything is already completed – that’s not the case,” Rummenigge told reporters before Bayern jetted off to China for a pre-season tour.

“We are interested but we’re not far enough to talk about the details and agreements with the player. We have to be patient and I hope that in the end the player will join us.

“It is no miracle that Juventus won the league a four times with him. Again, we have to wait and see if we can complete the transfer. But right now I don’t want to say too much.” 

Some reports had suggested that Bayern would be willing to offer playmaker Mario Gotze as part of a deal to bring ex-Bayer Leverkusen man Vidal back to Germany, but Rummenigge denied that was the case.

“There is nothing to approve about these rumours,” he added. 

“I was asked this many times. I don’t want to approve or exclude anything, but I say that we won’t exchange. Especially with Mario. Everybody knows the contracts.”