Jerome Boateng admits to interesting Paris Saint-Germain talk

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng has confirmed that he had made contact with Paris Saint-Germain regarding a summer move from the Allianz Arena. The Germany international had a World Cup to forget after the nation were ousted at the group stage but that did not have much impact on his reputation as a player.

Speaking to German outlet WELT, the former Hamburg man confirmed that there was indeed interest from the French champions but ultimately a deal could not materialise. He added that he now remains committed to the Bundesliga holders and would continue to play to the best of his abilities for the club, he said: “There were talks with Paris, that’s no secret. The project there was interesting, the talks with Thomas Tuchel were good. That does not mean that I’m not committed to Bayern anymore. I have big goals and will continue to do everything for the club. As I have always done.”

Tuchel’s side had hoped to recruit an experienced centre-back during the summer and as such, Boateng propped up their radar. However, they could not come close to Bayern’s £45m valuation for the German, considering they have already been walking on a tight rope with regards to the Financial Fair Play requirements.

Because of this, Boateng has remained with the German champions despite the bout of speculation and it will be interesting to see whether he can go unscathed through the 2018/19 campaign which has been a rarity for him throughout his career. Since joining Bayern, there has not been a single season where the German has managed over 30 league appearances and this is something he may want to improve on as he approaches the latter phase of his career.

Bayern have made a bright start to the campaign with back-to-back victories over Hoffenheim and Stuttgart and this already sees them a couple of points ahead of Borussia Dortmund, who were previously their main rivals for the league title.