Manchester United were willing to shatter transfer records by offering Bayern Munich an audacious €120 million (£88m) to acquire the services of Thomas Muller, German football magazine Kicker has claimed.
Muller, 26, was heavily linked with the Red Devils all summer, with Louis van Gaal desperate to renew his association with the player he managed at Bayern, who reportedly turned down a world record bid.
And although move couldn't be made, it is reported that the Dutchman will reopen the pursuit for the player once more in January next year – when the winter transfer window opens for a month.
According to Spanish outlet Fichajes, sources close to Bayern have claimed that Bayern could part ways with Muller soon as the Bundesliga giants are in need of money at the moment, and they believe a high-profile sale can give them a financial boost.
An annual salary worth €12.5m was waiting for the German World Cup winner at Old Trafford, had he made the move to Manchester this summer. It is also reported that the 20-time Premier League champions wanted to offer a contract to Muller that ran until 2020.
However, Bayern's persistence on holding the player gave no room for negotiations between the two parties, and as a result, the transfer could not take place.
Muller's current contract at the Allianz Arena runs until 2019.
Just a few days back, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge went on record saying that it was getting increasingly difficult for clubs to hold on to their star players with big offers pouring in for them from various suitors, and the transfer market is dominated by English clubs.
He also spoke of the Premier League's massive television deal.
"Their income from the TV pot is much, much bigger than our income in Germany or Italy or in Spain, so we have to find different philosophies which will not be very easy," the Bayern supremo spoke to Daily Mail.
"The tsunami wave will probably get bigger next year because the TV pot will be bigger than this year. So the transfer market will be totally dominated by the English clubs, that is a fact."
Muller already has six goals from four outings in the Bundesliga this season, with his latest goal coming in a 2-1 win for Bayern Munich against Augsburg on Saturday.
