Bayern Munich chief Hasan Salihamidzic has explained why the club didn't sign Erling Haaland or Cristiano Ronaldo this summer.
Norwegian international Haaland made the £51million switch to Manchester City instead back in July, after he scored 29 goals in 30 appearances for Borussia Dortmund last season. He was heavily linked with a move to Bundesliga champions Bayern before joining City, but Haaland decided to join Pep Guardiola's men - following in the footsteps of his father, Alfe Inge, who made a name for himself at the Blues.
Bayern have seen Robert Lewandowski move to pastures new as he made the switch to Barcelona, while Sadio Mane has arrived at the club as he joined from Liverpool in a deal worth around £35m. They had lined-up Haaland as a possible replacement, but after having conversations with the 22-year-old, he decided to join City.
"We've had a few conversations, of course, that's not a secret," Salihamidzic said on Bild's Phasenmäher podcast (via @iMiaSanMia). "We had things in mind that we could do. In the end it didn't work out for various reasons. I don't want to blame the player for that. He chose what he thinks is better for him," he added.
Manchester United forward Ronaldo was also heavily with a move to Bayern after the forward revealed he wants to leave Old Trafford this month. However, Salihamidzic confirmed that it would be difficult for a deal to be struck with Ronaldo due to his wage demands and the profile of the player.
"When you now see how our attack is equipped - even without Robert Lewandowski - it's just difficult from a sporting and financial point of view," he said when asked if Ronaldo was an option.
"We have eight players for four positions up front. We have established top players who are in the prime of their footballing age. We have talent that we want to give playing time too, so we all voted to go through with our plan.
"So that was out of question for us. We are very happy with how we're equipped."
Mane scored two more goals for Bayern as they beat Bochum 7-0 and he has enjoyed his time at the Allianz Arena so far. He said: " What a game, what a game. To be honest, the whole performance of the team was great today. We start well in the game, we create many chances, and we score seven goals - what a game, I have to say. Really happy and proud of the boys."
