Bayern faces Real Madrid in Audi Cup final

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday that Mario Goetze would have to show his potential on the pitch in order to play for the German giants, but insisted the 23-year-old would not leave Germany.

Goetze has been linked with a move to the Premier League this summer, with Manchester United and Liverpool as possible new clubs for the midfielder, and Juventus have also shown their interest.

“Mario Goetze is one of my favourite players. He knows that, I have spoken to him many times. He is a great guy and a great professional. Last season he played in almost all the matches except perhaps three or four, not more. But the players have to convince me on the pitch – every player, not just with what they have done in the past,” the 44-year-old Guardiola told reporters at a news conference to preview the Audi Cup.

Bayern have won two of three Audi Cup tournaments, beating Manchester United in the 2009 final and Manchester City in the 2013 tournament. Now they take on AC Milan on Tuesday for the Cup’s semi finals, and Guardiola believes it will be a big test for them with only a week to go before the season starts.

“It’s a crazy tournament and a big test because our opponents are the best teams in Europe. Of course it is a friendly game for everyone but these friendly games against important teams are the best for our development,” he said.

“Every trophy is a target. So we will try to do it, we will try to do it well. It is not easy because of the levels of the team but obviously it is a challenge for us and we will try to do it,” Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez agreed.

Real will take on Tottenham Hotspur, who finished fifth in the Premier League. The two meet for the first time, and it will be the first time Gareth Bale and Luka Modric play against their old club since they left in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

Bale has also been linked to Old Trafford, but Benitez did not want to talk about possible transfers.

“Obviously Gareth is a key player for us and tomorrow he will have the opportunity to play against Tottenham, but I don’t talk about offers or what could happen. I talk about the commitment that I can see from him every day. He is happy, he is training very well. We had a training session this morning and we were talking about the movements and what he has to do. So I think everything is fine and that he can do a great season for us,” Benitez said.

AC Milan is the only team that has always participated in the tournament, but the Serie A soccer club was of greater interest due to the latest news on a pre-sale agreement to sell 48 percent of his AC Milan soccer club to a group led by Thai businessman Bee Taechaubol by the end of September.

Asked about how the move could change the path of the seven-times European champions, coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, said:

“That is a question you should ask our followers, not me. It is a question for Berlusconi and Galliani. Nothing changes for me. But if Mr Bee up there wants to help the Berlusconi family and brings the money then it will be OK. Let’s see what happens, but I don’t think our situation will change much.”

When the deal closes, Taechaubol will be the latest in a string of foreign businessmen who have snapped up some of Europe’s most glamorous soccer clubs in recent years.

In 2013 a group of Indonesian investors bought Inter Milan, ending the long reign of the Moratti family over the team.