London
Thiago Alcantara says agreeing to leave Champions League winners Bayern Munich for English champions Liverpool was the most difficult decision of his career.
Thiago is due to undergo a medical later on Friday before sealing a move that will reportedly cost Liverpool an initial fee of £20 million ($26 million), with a further £5 million to follow in add-ons.
The 29-year-old Spain international is believed to have agreed a four-year deal with Liverpool.
He had been at Bayern since 2013 but with a year left on his contract he had stalled over signing an extension.
Thiago enjoyed a trophy-filled stay in Germany and was Bayern’s most influential player in their Champions League final victory over Paris Saint Germain last month.
In a message posted on Twitter, he said leaving Bayern had been a gut-wrenching decision.
‘I have made the most difficult decision of my sports career,’ Thiago wrote.
‘I will close this chapter on this wonderful club where I have grown as a player for seven years. Triumphs, joy and also hard times.
‘But what I am most proud of is that I arrived in Munich as a young man filled with dreams and now I will leave completely fulfilled with a club, a history and a culture.—APP
