Bayern Munich have confirmed during a press conference this morning in Munich that Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic will join Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.
The confirmation of the imminent transfer was made by the German club’s Sporting Director Matthias Sammer who also revealed the shirt numbers of new signings Robert Lewandowski and Sebastien Rode.
Mandzukic will join Atletico in a move expected to cost the Spanish club around €22m,with the Croatian set to fill the void left from Diego Costa’s move to Premier League club Chelsea.
According to Sammer, ”There is a verbal agreement between FC Bayern, Atlético Madrid and Mario Mandzukic. We want to thank Mandzukic for his performances at FC Bayern and wish him all the best for the future.”
The former German international also revealed that new signing Robert Lewandowski will wear the number 9 shirt at Bayern, previously worn by Mandzukic, while Sebastien Rode was given the number 20 shirt.
Poland international striker Lewandowski joins the German champions from arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund while Rode was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Bayern’s Sporting Director also revealed that French midfielder Franck Ribery is recovering well from a back injury that ruled him out of the World Cup and could even start in Bayern’s first pre-season friendly on July 15.
He also stated Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara had successful surgery on his knee injury and is making good recovery though would need some time before making a full recovery.