Football
Mark Lovell, Bayern Munich blogger 7y

Holger Badstuber to leave Bayern Munich on free transfer in the summer

Bayern Munich defender Holger Badstuber will leave the Bundesliga champions at the end of the current season, the club announced on Friday. 

Prior to joining Bundesliga rivals Schalke on loan in January, sources told ESPN FC that Manchester City were interested in acquiring Badstuber's services to link up with his former boss Pep Guardiola.

Swansea City manager Paul Clement, Carlo Ancelotti's former assistant at Bayern, also said he "could do a good job" in the Premier League.

Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement on the club website: "It was clear from the start that following his loan spell with Schalke 04, Holger Badstuber would seek to gain new experience elsewhere, probably abroad." 

Badstuber, 28, has suffered five serious injuries since 2012, but has battled back to full fitness. He vowed to make this "his last ever comeback" when returning to first-team action after a break of 259 days in late-October.

Amid confusion as to the length of his contract with Bayern, Schalke advised on Thursday they will not sign the Germany international when his loan spell ends -- prompting Bayern's statement. Badstuber has made 12 competitive appearances for Schalke.

"Contrary to reports in the media claiming otherwise, the contract between FC Bayern München and 28-year-old defender Holger Badstuber will expire on 30 June 2017," Rummenigge added.

"FC Bayern Munich wishes Holger Badstuber all the best and thanks him for his exemplary commitment during almost 15 years at Sabener Strasse."

Meanwhile, the Bundesliga champions head east to face RB Leipzig on Saturday in their final away game of the season.

Leipzig led the Bundesliga briefly in the first half of the season and went into the final game before the Bundesliga winter break level on points with Bayern. However, a 3-0 defeat in Munich left Leipzig three points behind -- a gap the East German side has never been able to bridge.

Ancelotti confirmed that central defenders Mats Hummels and Javi Martinez will both miss the trip through injury.

Martinez broke his collarbone hiking in the mountains in Spain on Sunday, while Hummels is "tired and still has a minor problem," Ancelotti said.

Apart from Hummels and Martinez, "all others are fit" according to Ancelotti, who expects a "Fussball Fest.".

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