Report: Niklas Süle to leave Bayern Munich

According to a report from Sport Bild’s Christian Falk, Niklas Süle has made the decision to leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season:

The decision has been made — and it hits FC Bayern very hard. Niklas Süle (26) is leaving the record champion at the end of the season!

BILD knows: The defender informed those responsible a few weeks ago that he would not extend his contract, which expires in the summer.

This news will absolutely create a difficult situation for the Bavarians. Not only does the club lose a top-notch defender, but it will lose him on a free transfer. The loss of such a valuable commodity for free is an awful business scenario in this market. Bild continues,

It was only on Sunday that President and Chairman of the Supervisory Board Herbert Hainer (67) said about Süle on Sky: “We have made an offer to Niklas. Now it’s up to him to accept it or not to accept it. Of course, it has to happen within a certain period of time, because then we have to position ourselves accordingly. I don’t know the exact date right now, but it will certainly be at some point in the foreseeable future that he will confess or even say what his wishes are. And then we will talk to him.”

Süle is said to have been surprised by this statement.

Because: Bavaria actually made Süle a new contract offer with an improved annual salary of around 10 million euros. However, Süle had long since rejected this when he let the club know about his decision.

If the report is true, Süle could join David Alaba, Jerome Boateng, and Javi Martinez, as recent free transfer that recently left Bayern Munich.

Per Falk, Bayern Munich is monitoring Chelsea FC’s Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rüdiger, along with Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Denis Zakaria as potential replacements for the summer transfer window. All three players would be free transfers.

Bayern Munich has also been linked to SC Freiburg’s Nico Schlotterbeck, Juventus’ Matthijs de Ligt, and Gladbach’s Matthias Ginter. Ginter would also come free, while Schlotterbeck and De Ligt are expected to command hefty transfer fees.

As for Süle, the defender’s most prominent suitors are FC Barcelona, Newcastle United, and Chelsea.

Update: Kerry Hau of Sport1 confirms

Journalist Kerry Hau at Sport1 has confirmed Bild’s reporting. He tweeted moments ago:

The information of my Sport Bild colleagues is correct: Niklas Süle is leaving FC Bayern in the summer. Destination still undecided. He wants a new challenge abroad. Decision was communicated just a short time ago.