Bayern Munich have agreed to sell Owen Hargreaves to Manchester United.

Bayern Munich have agreed to sell Owen Hargreaves to Manchester United.

Club president Franz Beckenbauer told German TV: "Owen is leaving. That was the player's wish. It's a good match and it's also a good deal financially."

Beckenbauer said the transfer fee was "around" £17million (about R235 million)- which would be a record for a Bundesliga player.

Hargreaves, 26, has been at Bayern for 10 years but after starring for England at the World Cup last year, he admitted he wanted to play in the Premiership.

United quickly moved to open negotiations with Bayern and made offers in the summer transfer window and in January but the German club refused to sell - until now.

Hargreaves, who played only nine league games for Bayern this season because of injury, is expected to sign a four-year deal with the newly-crowned Premiership champions. His career in Germany ended in disappointment when Bayern finished fourth in the Bundesliga, thereby missing out on Champions League qualification.

Writing in his column for the BBC Sport website, Hargreaves admitted the club "can never afford not to qualify for the Champions League".

His transfer is therefore likely to be the first stage of an overhaul at the club, with chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge promising to carry out "brutal and ruthless" changes to the team. Yesterday's newspaper reports said Bayern could use the funds from Hargreaves' sale to buy Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. - BBC