Bayern Munich say Arturo Vidal deal is still not complete

‘It’s no coincidence Juve have won the title in each of the four years he has been with them’

Bayern Munich are close to signing Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal but chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says a deal is not yet done.

After around 24 hours of negotiations, Vidal is close to making his move to a club he was on the verge of joining four years ago but Rummenigge has called for patience before the deal can be finalised.

“I’ve read about it and I’m not going to hide the fact that we are interested in him, but I read that it was all wrapped up and I cannot confirm that,” Rummenigge told reporters at Munich airport as Bayern flew out for a pre-season tour of China.

“As I’ve said, we’re interested, but we’re not yet so far that we’ve discussed details and signed contracts, so we need a bit of patience. I hope at the end of the day he will come.”

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The prospective move has evoked memories of four years ago, when Rummenigge criticised the Chilean and said he would never want such a player in his club.

Vidal was reported to have reneged on an agreement with the Bavarians to join Juve when he left Bayer Leverkusen, but Rummenigge says new information has since come to light.

‘Great quality’

He explained: "We have a new technical director at our club called Michael Reschke and he was at Leverkusen at the time, and he has told me that Leverkusen absolutely wanted to prevent Vidal from ending up at Bayern.

"(Then-coach) Jupp Heynckes really wanted the player and we tried all we could to sign him, and the message we were given was that the player didn't want to come to us, but that's not true.

“It was Leverkusen who clearly turned down what was a better offer from us at the time purely because they didn’t want Vidal to continue playing in the Bundesliga.”

Now that issue has been resolved, Rummenigge would welcome Vidal to Munich with open arms.

“He’s got great quality and it’s no coincidence that Juve have won the title in each of the four years he has been with them,” he said.

“But like I’ve said, we’ve just got to wait and see. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”

Meanwhile Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has revealed his club is in talks with Chelsea regarding left-back Filipe Luis' possible return to the Vicente Calderon stadium this summer.

The Brazil international joined Chelsea last summer after four seasons at Atletico and is under contract with the Blues outfit for another two seasons.

Filipe Luis made just nine league starts for the Premier League champions this past season and is reportedly keen to return to Spain.

“There are negotiations in place but I don’t know how fruitful they will be,” Cerezo said to the Spanish media. “Filipe Luis is a magnificent player.

“We would be delighted if he comes back and I think that in the end, we will find a solution.

“As always, the financial aspect takes precedence over the sentimental aspect but I believe a deal can be reached.”