Hargreaves sale not certain

Bayern Munich have warned that long-term United transfer target Owen Hargreaves is not guaranteed a move to Old Trafford in the summer.

United tabled a bid for the Canadian-born Englishman in January - reported to be around £20million - but Munich rejected the offer.

Sir Alex Ferguson has made no secret of his desire to bring Hargreaves to Manchester, and Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge claims the intitial offer remains on the table in the summer.

But he says the Bundesliga champions do not have to sell. "We have had a very large offer for Hargreaves from Manchester United and it remains valid until this coming summer," he is quoted as saying in The Sun.

"But he has a contract with Bayern Munich until 2010 and we are in the fortunate position that our finances are in top shape.

"We'll be presenting another first-class balance sheet this year, so we can still say 'no' if a club like Manchester United come in with a large offer for one of our players."

Rummenigge believes his club are in the driving seat because there are few players in Europe of the calibre of Hargreaves in his position.

"Fortunately, Bayern Munich enjoy special status. There aren’t many players of Owen Hargreaves’ quality in the holding midfielder position and our aim is to build a team capable of great things, not just domestically, but in Europe." [Via]