TEMPO.CO, Berlin - Bayern Munich`s Germany defender Jerome Boateng reveals to have turned down an offer to join Barcelona before the start of this season.
"I don`t know the details of how much Barcelona offered for me, but it is true that I received an offer," the 26-year-old center-back told Bild.
"When a club like Barca shows an interest, that is of course a huge honor," he said. "At the time I was already preparing for the new season with Bayern.”
"These days you don`t have to leave Bayern to join Barcelona if you want to win the Champions League," he added.
After making 50 appearances for Germany, Boateng was a key part of the squad, which won the World Cup last year and has a contract in Munich until June 2018.
He also lifted the Champions League trophy with Bayern in 2013 when they become the first German squad to win the treble including the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup in a season.
Boateng, who played for Hertha Berlin, Hamburg and Manchester City before joining Bayern for 13.5 million euros, is now considered the world’s most expensive defender, with an estimated market value of 40 million euros, which he had refused.
"I also find this sum, which has skyrocketed in the few years, crazy," he said.
ANTARA