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‘I’d not say no to the Premier League’ – Bayern Munich defender Boateng hints at summer switch
Having tasted English top-flight football with Manchester City, the veteran defender is open to a return
Bayern Munich centre-back Jerome Boateng has admitted that he would consider any propositions made to him from Premier League sides.
The 31-year-old’s future is currently unclear, and while the likelihood is that he will remain with the Allianz Arena side, who he helped to the Bundesliga title this season, there is no certainty as to where he will play next term.
He played 34 fixtures this season with Bayern, whose Champions League campaign is yet to conclude, but though he is a starter, that does not guarantee anything.
“I wouldn’t say no,” the former Manchester City man told CGTN Sports, China’s global television network, when asked about his prospects of a return to England.
“I love watching the Premier League and I loved playing there. It helped me a lot to train with world-class players.
“I don’t know what will happen next. You never know but it’s not like I would say that I don’t want to play there. It’s definitely one of my favourite leagues.”
Boateng’s previous spell in English football’s top flight saw him turn out during the 2010-11 season with Manchester City, but he struggled to impose himself at the Etihad Stadium, where he played 24 times without getting a goal or an assist. His campaign, however, was cut short due to a knee injury.
Frustrated at playing largely as a right-back in Manchester, which he believed hampered his chances of playing with the Germany national side, he pushed for a move to Bayern that was granted in July 2011 and he has subsequently established himself as one of the game’s foremost central defenders.
He has won eight Bundesliga titles with Bayern, while he has also picked up the DFB Pokal five times and the 2013 Champions League title.
He successfully broke into the Germany team and was memorably involved in their 2014 World Cup-winning run in Brazil, which included a fixture against Ghana that saw him square up against brother Kevin-Prince in a 2-2 draw in Fortaleza.
In total, he made 76 appearances for Germany, scoring a single goal against Slovakia at Euro 2016, before being infamously axed by head coach Joachim Low along with Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller in March 2019.
