Borussia Monchengladbach’s sporting director has confirmed that the club have no interest in signing Arjen Robben this summer.
Robben is available on a free transfer having left Bayern Munich at the end of last season, but Gladbach sporting director Max Eberl says that his side will not be joining the race for his signature.
Speculation surrounding the winger’s future has been ongoing since he announced earlier in the year that he would be leaving Bayern after 10 years with the Bundesliga giants.
Several clubs including Leicester City and Dutch side PSV have reportedly been in the running to land Robben this summer, with reports linking him to both the Chinese Super League and MLS also surfacing.
And German outfit Borussia Monchengladbach were the latest to be linked with the 35-year-old having lost Thorgan Hazard to Borussia Dortmund, yet Eberl has ruled out any possibility of capturing Robben’s signature.
In an interview with BILD, the club’s sporting director said: "This is not an idea for us."
Eberl certainly doesn't appear interested in bringing in 35-year-old Robben, and was unequivocal in addressing the fact that the club already have several players over the age of 30.
Gladbach’s roster includes Lars Stindl (30), Ibrahima Traore (31) and Raffael (34), with a potential return for Werder Bremen’s Max Kruse (31) also in the pipeline, leaving no immediate need for the arrival of Robben at Borussia-Park.
Moreover, reports suggest that the former Chelsea and Real Madrid winger would have to take a huge pay cut in order to strike a deal with Gladbach, thus ensuring that Robben will not be playing for Marco Rose’s side next season.
Having joined the German champions from Real Madrid in 2009, Robben went on to make over 300 competitive appearances for the Bavarians, and leaves having won eight Bundesliga titles.
The former Netherlands international also clinched five DFB Cups, and scored the winning goal in the 2013 Champions League final victory over fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund.
He also boasts the record of the club’s second-highest non-German goalscorer with 144, behind only current forward Robert Lewandowski on 191.
