Mario Gomez has every reason to smile.
VfB Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez will join Bayern Munich in a deal that could make him the most expensive Bundesliga player ever.
Both clubs and the player confirmed they had agreed a deal that media have estimated will be worth about €30m. This would be the biggest in German league history.
Manchester United paid €25m for Owen Hargreaves in 2007.
"I am looking forward to Bayern," Gomez told the club website at the start of an Asian tour with the German national team. "The club is something special. I want to compete for the championship with it and look forward to the Champions League."
Gomez scored 24 times for Stuttgart this season, a personal best, and has long been on Bayern's shopping list. He also won the 2007 championship with Stuttgart.
The move could increase the chances of Bayern playmaker Franck Ribery staying on.
Ribery, courted by most major European clubs, has repeatedly called on Bayern to buy other players to create a more competitive team.
"We managed to hold on to him twice," Stuttgart manager Horst Heldt said about Gomez. "But he has now decided on a change. The fact is that if Bayern meet our conditions then the transfer will be complete in a few days.
The 23-year-old German, whose father is from Spain, has won 23 caps for Germany, scoring six goals, the last more than a year ago.
Gomez said he understood why some Stuttgart fans would be surprised that he was joining rivals Bayern.
"But I hope they will fondly remember the amazing times we lived through together," he added.
The deal only became possible after Bayern clinched the second Bundesliga spot leading to automatic Champions League qualification, guaranteeing them several million euros worth of added revenues.
Bayern confirmed their interest hours after grabbing the spot with a 2-1 win against Stuttgart on Saturday.
"We are delighted that Mario Gomez has decided to join us," said Bayern General Director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. "He is a first class striker, one of the best in Germany."
Bayern have already signed Anatoliy Tymoschuk from Zenit St. Petersburg, Ivica Olic from Hamburg SV and Alexander Baumjohann from Borussia Moenchengladbach.
[Soccernet]
Bayern Munich will open talks with Stuttgart next week over the possibility of signing Germany international striker Mario Gomez, according to the Bavarian club's general manager Uli Hoeness.
Hoeness told DSF television today he is hopeful the two clubs will be able to agree on the transfer of Gomez to Bayern.
"We will start talks next week and then we will see what comes of it," he said. "I would say today he is a very interesting player. I am relatively optimistic."
Funds to finance a deal should not have to come from the sale of Bayern's star midfielder Franck Ribery, however.
"He has a contract for another two years and there is no get-out clause at all," said Hoeness. "(Keeping him) is not so difficult."
Hoeness is confident keeping Ribery and signing Gomez will enable new coach Louis van Gaal to plan for a successful season next year and he has every confidence the Dutchman will show a better eye for talent than his predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann.
For the first time since Klinsmann was sacked in April, Hoeness criticised his leadership of the club.
"No coach has ever had as much of an influence on things in the history of FC Bayern as Klinsmann," he said. "His wishes were not only fulfilled, they were over-fulfilled. To claim he was not allowed to do what he wanted is wrong.
"The only concrete suggestion Klinsmann had was to sign Landon Donovan and (reserve team coach) Hermann Gerland said he would never even have played him in the reserve team."
Hoeness also today confirmed Christian Nerlinger will be taking over his position at the club this summer.
"Nerlinger will become our director of sport on July 1," said the 57-year-old, who had already announced his intention to leave his post at the end of the year after three decades.
By then, Hoeness hopes to have found another man to work alongside Nerlinger in a dual role to take care of the marketing and sponsorship side of the business while Nerlinger can concentrate on team affairs.
[Soccernet]
Stuttgart director of sport Horst Heldt has spoken of his surprise at the way Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness continues to court Mario Gomez.
Stuttgart rejected an offer from Bayern for the Germany striker this summer, declaring the issue closed, but Hoeness revealed recently that a lot of money had been put on the table.
He confirmed that Bayern would keep monitoring the situation and a repeat bid next year is likely, but Heldt cannot understand why Hoeness will not give up the ghost.
'I find it quite strange that for weeks now he continues to speculate about it in public,' Heldt told Sport Bild magazine.
'Our decision has been taken and we are not interested in any sums that are being bandied around.
'25, 30 or 35 million (euros) - that does not play a role for us anymore.'
Hoeness claimed that Gomez was keen on joining Bayern and that an agreement with the player had been reached, but Stuttgart did not relent when they received a lucrative offer which would have broken the Bundesliga transfer record.
Germany international Mario Gomez insists he is committed to Stuttgart despite reports linking him with Bayern Munich this summer.
Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness claimed talks with the striker were at an advanced stage and Gomez had given his word he would like to join the German champions.
However, a bid of 25 million euros was rejected by Stuttgart, meaning Gomez will spend another season with the Swabians.
'I have made my view on this clear and now I am just looking forward to the new season with VfB,' he told Kicker magazine.
Gomez has been the club's top goalscorer for the past two seasons, winning the Bundesliga's golden boot award in 2007 when Stuttgart claimed the title, but his form dipped at Euro 2008 where he was unable to find the back of the net.
It has been suggested that ongoing speculation surrounding his future at Stuttgart affected his form in Austria and Switzerland, but Gomez was quick to dismiss any excuses.
'The European Championships is a long time ago, as far back as the league title in 2007,' added the 23-year-old.
'I am not wasting any thoughts on that. I am in Stuttgart and happy here. That is it.'
Gomez is now aiming to help his side re-gain their winning form and mount another challenge for silverware this season.
'I am convinced that we can play better this season,' he continued. 'Winning the league may not be our aim, but then who knows what will happen. Two years ago, we didn't speak of the title either.
'There are teams with bigger stars than us, but we are a very good team.'
Stuttgart's league campaign starts on August 17 at Borussia Monchengladbach.
