
The powerful striker has had sensational back-to-back seasons with
Stuttgart and has been linked with clubs all around Europe, including
Arsenal, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Milan and Roma.
However,
a poor Euro 2008 - his first showing on the big stage - cooled much
interest from around Europe, but Bayern Munich remained in the hunt to
lure yet another striker to the Allianz Arena, where they already have
Lucas Podolski, Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose.
Bayern have
inisted that they are not yet out of the hunt and will swoop for Super
Mario next year. Stuttgart, meanwhile, are satisfied to have maintained
their stance.
"We didn't want any team's money," said Stuttgart manager Horst Heldt. "We wanted to keep Germany's player of the year."