Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka will join Bayern Munich on July 1, it has been confirmed.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had been hoping to persuade the Germany international to move to Anfield.

A number of other clubs, including Barcelona and Juventus, had also been interested in the 22-year-old.

But Goretzka has elected to remain in the Bundesliga, with Schalke’s general manager Christian Heidel confirming he has rejected a deal to stay at the Veltins Arena, and has inked a pre-contract agreement with Die Roten.

"Leon informed us earlier in the week that he might leave the club and join Bayern,” said Heidel on Friday morning.

“Yesterday, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern CEO) informed us that Leon has passed the medical check.

“We’re losing a very, very good player. He has signed a contract from July 1 with Bayern. We did everything possible to keep Leon.

"In the summer, there was an agreement with him and his advisors, but he wanted to the wait and see how things developed.

“We can deal with the situation - it is not a total surprise. We are prepared for this. Now we have the rest of the season to think about possible solutions."

Schalke had offered Goretzka a deal that would have made him the highest-paid player in their history. They have spent 18 months trying to persuade him to stay put, but to no avail.

Source: Daily Mirror

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