Karl-Heinz Rummenigge likes talking about Manchester United. Whether it be almost public mocking of the club over their efforts to sign Thomas Muller, or telling Louis van Gaal to leave Bastian Schweinsteiger alone, Rummenigge will snatch any chance to have a swipe.
So when SportBild asked Rummenigge ‘How did you manage to snatch Sanches from other top clubs like Man United?’, it was a great opportunity for the Bayern chief.
Manchester United had been very strongly linked with a move for Sanches, and there were claims in Portugal that the outline of a deal had already been agreed, but Rummenigge says that when Bayern heard the transfer was wobbling, they jumped in and got a deal done.
“Renato had a concrete request from Manchester United. Of which we were aware. I have heard the evening before the semi-final first leg at Atletico Madrid that the negotiations could not get to the end, as Manchester did not have a new coach.
“Then we made our response: We invited the president of Benfica and his adviser to Madrid. The mood after the game was not good (Bayern lost), but in the night we sealed the transfer with a handshake.”
Rummenigge didn’t end his quote with ‘Aren’t we so very clever!’, but he probably wanted to.
