Rummenigge wary of Chelsea threat

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge believes his side are not yet ready for the challenge of the likes of Chelsea, either on or off the field, ahead of Friday’s draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Rummenigge stated firmly his desire to be kept apart from Jose Mourinho’s side despite being confident of beating London rivals Arsenal prior to their round-of-16 tie, which concluded in favour of the Bavarians.

The former German international said: “Chelsea are one of the strongest teams in the Champions League and are a team we would prefer to avoid at this stage.

“If we are to meet them, then I would prefer it to be one round later.”

Bayern Munich move to a new purpose-built 66,000-seater arena on the northern edge of the city next season as the club prepare to write a new chapter in their glittering history.

But although Bayern will be the envy of many teams throughout Europe for their new Allianz Arena home, it is not going to send their profits through the roof to the extent they will be able to compete with sides like Chelsea in the bidding for top players, according to Rummenigge.

He added: “Obviously, we will earn a little more money from the increased capacity at the new stadium, but we aren’t going to earn the sort of income that could see us compete with people like (Chelsea owner Roman) Abramovich.”