Liverpool strikes deal to sign Thiago
Thiago Alcantara is reportedly close to completing his switch to Liverpool from Bayern Munich.
The Reds have agreed a deal that could eventually be worth £25million (€27.5m) to sign Thiago from the Bundesliga champion.
Thiago is expected to sign a four-year deal and wear the number six shirt at Anfield, ending Liverpool's lengthy pursuit of the talented midfielder.
The 29-year-old was rumoured to be a target for Jurgen Klopp before the transfer window opened, with the Liverpool boss aiming to add more creativity to his midfield unit.
Liverpool are understood to have agreed to pay Bayern £20m upfront for Thiago, who has a year left to run on his contract at the Allianz Arena, with another £5m to be potentially paid in add-ons.
Bayern boss Flick has lauded the departing Spaniard, whose contract was due to run out next year, and told Klopp he is getting a star.
"Thiago is an exceptional player who spent seven hugely successful years here," he said.
"He's a wonderful person and an outstanding professional. It was very emotional today when he said goodbye to us all.
"I can only congratulate Jurgen Klopp. We are in good spirits that we can still do something in the transfer market. We lost a lot of quality with him."
Uncertainty over whether Thiago would stay or go had rumbled on for months and Flick confirmed he had tried to persuade the former Barcelona man to remain in Bavaria.
However, after winning seven Bundesliga titles, a Champions League and the DFB-Pokal on four occasions during his seven seasons with the club, Thiago informed his coach he was keen to continue his career elsewhere.
"I tried to change his mind," said Flick.
"The farewell was difficult, he told me that he was looking for another challenge."
Flick is keen not to say goodbye to another key member of his treble-winning side, with the Bayern boss desperate to get the versatile David Alaba to extend his contract beyond the end of the forthcoming campaign.
Having come through at Barcelona as an attacking midfielder, Thiago has dropped into a deeper role in recent seasons and was integral to Bayern's treble success in 2019-2020.
In total, Thiago has made 235 appearances in all competitions across seven seasons with Bayern, scoring 31 goals and providing 35 assists.
He helped Bayern to seven successive Bundesliga titles, four DFB-Pokal wins and one Champions League triumph.
