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Mats Hummels claims he discounted a move to Manchester United because of the club's failure to qualify for the Champions League.

On the same day United lost their penultimate Premier League match of the season at West Ham in May to all but consign them to Europa League football next season, Bayern Munich confirmed the signing of Hummels from Borussia Dortmund.

United had enquired about signing Hummels from Dortmund in 2014 - when they could not offer any European football - but after the Germany defender endured a dismal 2014-15 campaign they made no approach to sign him, even though Dortmund had failed to qualify for the Champions League and United had.

Louis van Gaal settled on Daley Blind as his ball-playing centre-back after Sergio Ramos signed a new Real Madrid contract last year and Hummels hinted he would have been receptive to joining United before he became the latest Dortmund star to move to Bundesliga champions Bayern.

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"Fundamentally, England, Spain and Germany were the relevant leagues I could see myself playing football in," Hummels told Suddeutsche Zeitung. "But at this stage there just was not that one English club where the overall package was fitting.

"The overall package means: a club which fascinates me; a club I have always wanted to join, and where the sporting constellation is right, and which of course plays Champions League football next season. And because of the latter one club was ruled out, and you can envision which club that was."

Sir Alex Ferguson scouted Hummels, Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski in Dortmund's 2012 German Cup final thrashing of Bayern Munich but retired the following year.

Bayern previously signed Mario Gotze and Lewandowski from Dortmund in recent years before Hummels' move.

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