Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has defended the club's decision to spend big in order to lure Mats Hummels away from Borussia Dortmund.
Bundesliga champions Bayern have reportedly paid in excess of €35 million to sign Dortmund captain Hummels, even though he only had one year left on his deal at Signal Iduna Park.
However, Rummenigge believes the state of the transfer market meant Bayern had no choice but to shell out for the Germany centre-back, who will move in July.
"The only thing I can say about Hummels' transfer fee is that the market has decided the fee," Rummenigge told Bild.
"Bundesliga clubs no longer have any influence on the transfer fees. The transfer market is global.
"If a player is German, world-class, has a contract with our partner Adidas and came through the ranks of our youth academy, that means there are a lot of factors that made Mats an interesting player for us."
Hummels, who has signed a contract with Bayern until June 2021, will play his final game for Dortmund against the Bavarian giants in Saturday's DFB-Pokal>
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