The whole transfer gossip column culture is a very strange world.
While there may be a nugget of truth in some players being linked with marquee moves away, a lot of those rumours are complete bullshit.
It has reached the stage where it feels like part of someone's job is to fabricate a couple of crazy transfer stories every day in order to gain some traction and get the hordes of football fans who buy into those types of stories talking.
Remember the 'rumblings' of PSG going in for a double-swoop of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi? Remember when Sami Khedira was on his way to Old Trafford? We hate to break it to you, but Neymar's probably not going to go to Bayern in a 'shock' £80 million move either.
Some poor souls even thought that Southampton actually bought a non-existent player with this unfortunate name.
https://twitter.com/SuothamptonFC/status/816765420363513857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsjoe.ie%2Ffootball%2Fimpressive-fake-transfer-rumour-fools-internet-108564
While some of these stories come down to things that media types may have heard from 'sources close to' the club or player, it certainly seems like there are some stories that are so improbable that there couldn't have been much of a focus on accuracy or seeking out the truth when these rumours started spreading and getting reported on.
Bayern Munich recently fell victim to one such story that didn't have the proper facts laid out, and they're trying to make an example of the publication who reported it.
German outlet Stuttgarter Zeitung
claimed on Tuesday that 22-year-old Joshua Kimmich, who is under contract with the Bundesliga giants until 2020, would be leaving the club this summer due to a lack of game time. The reported destination was either RB Leipzig or Manchester City.
The German international played for Leipzig for two seasons before being snapped up by Pep Guardiola for Bayern in 2015.
https://twitter.com/FCBayern/status/864823219978739714
According to Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge,
"This is a monstrous fallacy. This story lacks any foundation. Joshua Kimmich has a contract with FC Bayern until 2020 and will definitely play for the next season for FC Bayern."
It doesn't end there either.
In a statement on their
official website, Bayern stated that the club had "immediately taken legal action against the Stuttgart newspaper".
This could open up a whole can of worms. If more clubs follow suit, this could potentially be the moment that ends bullshit transfer rumours forever.
