Michael Olise has become the latest man to swap the Premier League for Bayern Munich, with the attacker turning down the chance to join Manchester United to move to Germany
Michael Olise has pointed to the chance to win titles at Bayern Munich as the reason he snubbed Manchester United to join the Bundesliga giants.
Olise completed his £60million move to Bayern on Sunday, having also been a target for United. The attacker endured an injury-hit season in the campaign just gone, but still scored 10 goals and notched six assists to help Crystal Palace secure a top 10 finish.
He joined Palace three years ago in a £9m move from Reading, quickly becoming a key member of the Eagles’ team. His performances drew admiring glances from several top Premier League clubs, including United and Chelsea.
The 22-year-old came close to joining the Blues last summer, but instead penned a new contract to stay at Selhurst Park. That deal contained a new release clause, which Bayern activated last month.
Olise has now agreed personal terms and made the transfer official, being unveiled on Sunday. And the Frenchman pointed to Bayern’s place in the Champions League next season, as well as their recent dominance of German football as the key attractions.
Speaking after signing a five-year deal at Bayern, Olise told the German club’s website: “The talks with FC Bayern were very positive, and I’m very happy to now be playing for such a big club.
“It’s a great challenge, and that’s exactly what I was looking for. I want to prove myself at this level and play my part in ensuring that we win as many titles as possible with our team in the coming years.”
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Bayern are delighted to have beaten off the interest of United to sign Olise. The club’s board member for sport, Max Eberl, said: “Michael Olise is a player who can make the difference and attracted great interest with his style of play.
“We want new impetus in our team, new energy, new ideas – that’s what players like Michael Olise stand for. During the talks, he quickly signalled that he really wanted to join FC Bayern. We’re very much looking forward to him. He will enrich our game.”
Bayern will have to wait before Olise links up with their team though, after he was picked by Thierry Henry for France’s Olympics squad. He marks the latest man to make the move from the Premier League to the Allianz Arena.
Harry Kane and Eric Dier both joined Bayern from Tottenham last summer, before Vincent Kompany left Burney to become the German side’s manager in May. Meanwhile, the fee Bayern have paid makes Olise the Eagles’ record sale, with chairman Steve Parish wishing him well.
Parish said: “We respect his desire to further test himself at the highest level of world football, and I would like to personally wish him the very best for his next adventure with Bayern Munich in Germany which I’m sure we will all follow closely.”
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