Bayern still sorting out Martinez deal

Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2012 by ESPN

Despite drawn-out negotiations, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has revealed that the club are not giving up on signing Javi Martinez.

The Bavarian club have pursued Martinez all summer, with his current employers Athletic Bilbao insisting they will not accept any bid less than the player's 40 million Euro release clause. Bayern Munich agreed to meet the clause last week, and the Spaniard's move to the Allianz Arena was expected to be completed.

However, Rummenigge told the FCB.tv that the deal has been slowed down by legal and tax details, which Bilbao are not offering assistance to deal with.

"We want to sign Javi Martinez for €40m, but there are still legal and tax problems," he stated.

"These problems could be solved very easily if Bilbao would accommodate us with a bit of help, but they are not doing so."

Nonetheless, the German remains optimistic in the club's pursuit of Martinez, as the player has agreed to lower his wage demands in order to secure the move to Bayern
"We always said that we would never pay €40m for Javi Martinez, but he refrains from high wages to make this possible," Rummenigge shared.

Bayern Munich travel to newly promoted Greuther Furth for their opening Bundesliga fixture this Saturday.