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Soccer

Guardiola: Muller, Goetze staying put at Bayern Munich amid rumors

By FoxSports
Published | Updated
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MUNICH, GERMANY - OCTOBER 04: Mario Goetze (L) and Thomas Mueller of Muenchen look on as they sit on the bench prior to the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Hannover 96 at Allianz Arena on October 4, 2014 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Lennart Preiss/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Bayern Munich pair Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze are staying with the Bundesliga club, according to boss Pep Guardiola.

Muller has been linked with a sensational swoop to Manchester United, while Goetze has been linked to Man City and Arsenal, but both players are staying in Bavaria. Guardiola has also ruled out a move for Man City target Kevin de Bruyne, whose on-off switch from Wolfsburg has dominated the back pages all summer.

Guardiola said: "Mario (Goetze) stays, Thomas (Muller) stays. Kevin De Bruyne is not coming. I knew that two weeks ago."

Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also moved to bring an end to speculation linking Gotze with a move to Juventus. Goetze's future has been uncertain since he hinted at a problem with coach Pep Guardiola during the recent Audi Cup tournament in Munich.

Juve have been keeping an eye on the German World Cup winner, earmarking him as a replacement for Arturo Vidal who they sold to Bayern for $39 million this summer. That move is not now likely to happen since Rummenigge says Goetze does not want to leave.

"He's told the club that he wants to stay here," Rummenigge said at a press conference in Munich on Thursday, ahead of their first Bundesliga fixture of the season against Hamburg on Friday night. If nothing new should arise, then that puts a lid on it."

Goetze struggled to hold down a regular starting berth last season and it had been rumored he was having some regrets about moving to Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2013. The chances of him appearing more often this season are no greater, but Rummenigge now expects him to knuckle down and fight for his place.

"At the end of the day, it's up to Mario, and I've told him this," Rummenigge said. "Of course there's a lot of competition in his position."