With two games to play, defending champion Bayern Munich is out of contention for the 2007 German Bundesliga title — or a berth in next season’s Champions League for that matter. The conservative German club is reportedly prepared to shell out as much as $160 million to regain the title.
At the top of general manager Uli Hoeness’s summer shopping list is Portuguese national team midfielder Deco, who is believed to be unhappy with his role at Barcelona. Hoeness tried to bring Deco to Munich from Porto in 2004 but the Brazilian-born midfielder opted for Barca instead.
Former Bayern player Ze Roberto told Munchner Abendzeitung that he would relish a return to Munich. He has had an outstanding season for Santos since returning to Brazil after eight seasons in Germany, first with Bayer Leverkusen and then Bayern. Bayern’s midfield struggled after the departure of star Michael Ballack to Chelsea and Ze Roberto last summer. England international Owen Hargreaves is almost certain to join Manchester United this summer, and Sebastien Deisler retired in January.