Thiago Alcantara has dropped a bombshell on Bayern Munich by reneging on a new contract as he wants to leave the club.

The Spanish international, 29, had previously agreed to a new contract back in May but the Covid-19 pandemic put the paperwork being signed to a halt. Now though, he’s backed out of signing the deal and the club believe it’s because he wants to leave.

Thiago signed for Bayern back in 2013 from Barcelona and has won the Bundesliga every year he’s been at the club. He is seen as one of the most technically gifted midfielders of his generation, but injury problems have stopped him really fulfilling his potential.

According to BILD journalist Christian Falk, who is highly reliable with the goings on at Bayern, the rumours within the squad are that Thiago wants to join Premier League champions-elect Liverpool this summer.

Not true. True: The contract of Thiago and Bayern was fixed, everything was negotiated. But: at the appointment with the bosses Thiago hesitated to sign. he said he couldn't explain it to himself. in the club they now believe that he wants to leave @SPORTBILD https://t.co/ncjnB9aEmK

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) June 24, 2020

Update @fcbayern & Thiago: in the Team there are rumors that he wants to join @LFC @SPORTBILD

— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) June 24, 2020

While Liverpool would obviously take him and he’d slot straight into their midfield, it seems like odd timing. The Anfield side have just missed out on the signing of Timo Werner to league rivals Chelsea, citing the finances of any potential deal as a big problem amid the current climate. Klopp was quoted stating:

“It’s rather quiet here (at Liverpool) at the moment, I think it’s safe to say. If you want to take it seriously and run a normal business and depend on income and have no idea how much you will earn… especially because we don’t know when we can start playing with spectators again.

At the moment, all clubs are losing money. Without spectators, we have to pay back the season tickets and probably sell none next year. At least maybe without the first 10 or 15 games. The VIP areas won’t be packed and the tickets won’t be sold. This will have an impact on other partners and things will look a bit different.

Discussing with the players about things like salary waivers and on the other hand buying a player for £50-60m, we have to explain.“

Thiago would not be a cheap transfer, especially as Bayern clearly want to keep him. He only has one-year remaining on his deal since he’s opted against re-signing with the Bundesliga champions which would drop the price but Bayern won’t be bullied into selling him on the cheap.

At 29, this is likely to be the former Barcelona mans last big contract which should also be a consideration. It’s possible that the player has had someone in his ear about what they’d be willing to offer him and is using this as a way to earn more at the Allianz Arena.

Clubs like Manchester United, PSG, Juventus and Barcelona have all been linked in the past and would likely pay him big wages but it’s not known if they’re interested again this time around. If Liverpool are indeed interested though, it seems as though they are the favoured destination. Should Thiago end up at Anfield, it could be the type of signing to help them turn their first title in 30 years into something more of a dynasty.