Bayern Munich Raid Premier League Again To Sign Palhinha From Fulham

The Bavarians are paying an initial £42.3m plus a further £4.2m in add-ons for the Portuguese midfielder.

Palhinha is one of the toughest tackling midfielders in Europe, having accumulated 27 yellow cards in his two Premier League seasons with Fulham.

The 29-year-old has signed a four-year contract and joins Michael Olise in swapping the Premier League for the Bundesliga this summer.

Palhinha joined Fulham from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2022 for £17m and made 79 appearances, scoring eight goals.

He came close to joining Bayern Munich last summer but the transfer collapsed on deadline day.

“This is one of the happiest days of my life," Palhinha told the club's website., external

"I'm now playing for one of the top clubs in Europe. It's a dream come true for me, and I'm very proud of that."

"I'm looking forward to the atmosphere and the fans at the Allianz Arena. I want to enjoy success with FC Bayern and win titles - I'll give it my all.”

Bayern's sporting director Max Eberl added: "Joao Palhinha was already highly regarded at FC Bayern last summer - and rightly so! It was important that we never lost contact.

"Joao really wanted to come to FC Bayern and we need players like him. He is an important building block for our future.

"He has once again demonstrated his strengths on a big stage at the European Championships and brings a lot of experience with him, having previously played in a European Championship and a World Cup and around 300 competitive matches in the Portuguese and English leagues. He will give us even more stability in the centre."

Palhinha played four times for Portugal at EURO 2024.