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Bayern ready to give Luca Toni away – at no charge

Bundesliga heavyweight Bayern is prepared to give away its mercurial striker Luca Toni for nothing, club president Uli Hoeneß told the sport television station Deutsches Sport-Fernsehen on Sunday.

Bayern ready to give Luca Toni away – at no charge
Photo: DPA

While it has been known for some time that the Italian playmaker was set to leave the Munich-based club owing to his rancorous relationship with manager Louis van Gaal, the new revelation shows how desperate Bayern is to get rid of its erstwhile star striker.

However Hoeneß said that despite the urgency, Bayern had yet to receive a firm offer from another club.

“We still don’t have any definite offer, even though we are prepared to lend him out at no fee or sell him,” Hoeneß said.

If necessary, they were prepared to demand no transfer fee “because we want to have calm,” Hoeneß said.

“The topic of Toni will certainly preoccupy the media as long as he is here.”

By getting rid of 32-year-old Toni, Bayern would wipe one of its top earners from its payroll.

The striker, who was contracted to the club until 2011, has already talked to clubs in Italy, Spain and England.

Although Toni was the Bundesliga‘s top scorer in the 2007/08 season, an Achilles tendon injury and a monumental falling out with manager van Gaal have put him on the bench for most of this season.

Hoeneß said the club still had nearly two weeks to firm up a deal.

“Now we’re waiting to see what happens,” he said. “The transfer period starts on January 1 and we still have some time before then.”

He said Bayern was well-placed with their forward combination of Ivica Olic, Miroslav Klose und Mario Gomez.

“With these three we have very strong forwards and varition possibilities,” he said.

Hoeneß also brushed aside speculation that manager van Gaal’s future of the club had been hanging by a threat.

“The position of Louis van Gaal was never in danger.”

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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