The Hargreaves saga will go down the wire with the player adamant that he wants to move on from Bayern Munich.
From an interview with Bild:
“I’ve given everything to Bayern Munich for the last nine years and I want to be treated with respect. I simply want it to be accepted that Manchester would be a great step for me.”
On Bayern Munich’s refusal to let him go:
“The manager doesn’t want to let me go. That’s his right. But he knows exactly what I want.
It’s simply a great challenge. I’m an England player, part of my family lives near Manchester. A lot of things come together.”
On his contract extension to 2010:
“It was a great honour for me at the time. In the meantime, a lot of things have developed for me in a different way. I have a great chance to become a key player for England.”
If he stays at Bayern Munich:
“The coach knows what I can do. And so do the fans. I always give everything I have. That won’t change no matter where I play.”
I’ve already said this – Bayern Munich are playing tough but knowing Manchester United and having seen how transfers go Bayern may not have a choice in this matter. For Hargreaves, Manchester United is a chance to cement his place in England and finally be accepted by the fans. It’s also a chance to play at a top club in England, and for an English player that chance rarely comes.
Bayern need to fight this to save face, but reporting Manchester United to Fifa will do them no good and if they force the player to stay, Hargreaves is professional enough to not run away and go on strike. But the price of keeping an unhappy player, especially one that could net them 12-15 mil, is not worth paying here.
Manchester United take on Watford on Saturday – should be 3 out of 3 and set up the Tottenham and Arsenal home clashes nicely. We SHOULD be able to negotiate the next 3 games without dropping any points. Videos of the goals will be provided, as always.
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