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Bayern not planning Kroos sale

ESPN staff
February 2, 2014
Toni Kroos is reportedly looking to double his salary © Getty Images
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Bayern Munich insist they have no intention of selling Manchester United target Toni Kroos before his contract expires in 2015.

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said last month that the club had been unable to agree an extension due to financial differences, with reports suggesting Kroos wants to double his current salary.

United have been linked with Kroos after manager David Moyes was pictured with one of the player's agents at a recent Bayern game, and Pep Guardiola subsequently suggested the midfielder could be sold.

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Doubts over his future increased when he threw his gloves at the bench in frustration when substituted during the club's 2-1 win over Stuttgart on Wednesday, which Kroos has since discussed in German newspaper Bild.

However, Bayern sporting director Matthias Sammer maintains the club are not contemplating allowing Kroos to leave in the summer.

"We have no intention of selling Toni prematurely," he told Sueddeutsche Zeitung. "As [Bayern president] Uli Hoeness recently said: Bayern are a buying club, not a selling club."

Sammer indicated that they would be willing to allow Kroos to run down his contract if no new deal is reached.

"We want to extend Toni's deal - everyone at the club agrees on that [but] it's not a straightforward matter," he said. "You can't say that the odds are 80-20 or even 70-30 [in favour of an extension]."

Sammer suggested Kroos and Thiago Alcantara could form a midfield partnership comparable to Xavi and Andres Iniesta at Barcelona.

"Kroos is the more strategic of the two players, similar to Xavi," he said. "Thiago is more like Iniesta - he takes a riskier approach, producing moments of genius."

He added: "Sometimes Toni focuses too much on his own performance, but he has the capability to eventually take responsibility for the way the entire team plays."

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