Bayern boss Hans-Dieter Flick congratulates Liverpool on £20m signing of Thiago

Bayern Munich manager Hans-Dieter Flick has congratulated Liverpool on the £25million signing of Thiago Alcantara.

Having been linked with the Spaniard all summer, Liverpool finally made a breakthrough in their negotiations with Bayern on Thursday after they agreed to pay a minimum of £20m over the next four years, along with £5m in add-ons.

The 29-year-old was made available by Bayern after he entered the final year of his contract, which saw the European champions cash in on arguably their best midfielder.

And now with his move agreed between the two clubs, Flick took the opportunity to heap praise on Thiago, while applauding Liverpool for their most recent acquisition.

'Thiago is an extraordinary player and was very important for us,' Flick said. 'My coaching team and I enjoyed working with him.

'It was very emotional as we said goodbye. I can only congratulate Liverpool as they got a great player and especially a great person.

'Thiago gave the team a lot of options and made us unpredictable, he solved things in ways you don't expect.

'Now we're losing yet another great player. We are in contact with Hasan [Salihamidzic, sporting director] and we are confident that we can still do something.

'We're positive and we have the first game tomorrow. That's the focus now and we have a good squad with which we can win the game.'

Thiago will join Liverpool on a four-year deal and will wear the No 6 shirt, as he has done all through his career.