Bayern Munich again closed the door on Manchester United hopes of signing England midfielder Owen Hargreaves.

Bayern general manager Uli Hoeness told German SID sports news agency that he had spoken with United chief executive David Gill and had told him: "You can offer me €50million for Owen Hargreaves but we will not let him go."

The club's trainer, Felix Magath, said it was high time 25-year-old Hargreaves showed he was committed to his contract, which runs through June 2010.

"He can climb to the top of Mount Everest and say whatever he wants but a contract with Bayern Munich is a contract. Basta! (enough)."

United manager Alex Ferguson said in a news conference today that he still hoped to persuade Bayern to sell the player, who was one of the few England success at the World Cup where they lost in the quarter-finals on penalties to Portugal.

"We have been trying to negotiate with Bayern Munich for quite a while and it's at a bit of a deadlock," Ferguson told a news conference. But there's no hiding the fact now that the boy has said he would like to join United and we would like to have him.

"How we find the mechanism to get the deal done is in (chief executive) David Gill's capable hands. He is doing his best. Hopefully we can get something done."

Hargreaves was quoted as saying today by German newspaper tz that he had enjoyed his time at Bayern but the World Cup had changed his perspective.

"I come from England, my whole family is there and if I played there I would be able to become a regular in the national side," he told the paper.

Bayern are keen to keep Hargreaves after losing Michael Ballack to English champions Chelsea. However, Ferguson is optimistic that Hargreaves's desire to play for United and his club's "good" relationship with Bayern will allow the move to go through.

Hargreaves is in demand after impressive performances for England in the World Cup and a friendly international against Greece at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

Ferguson has had his eye on the player, who has spent all of his career in Munich, for a number of years but stepped up his interest after allowing Roy Keane to leave last season and seeing Hargreaves establish himself as a holding midfielder.

"He has matured into that position and his performances for England in the World Cup emphasised that," he said.

Ferguson said he would have liked to have signed a player who would guarantee 20 goals a season to replace van Nistelrooy but added he was not worried about the striking resources at his disposal.

Wayne Rooney will shoulder the greatest responsibility for firing United's title ambitions and Ferguson expressed his surprise and disappointment at the three-match bans handed to Rooney and Paul Scholes following their sendings-off in a pre-season tournament hosted by Ajax in Amsterdam.

United had initially understood from the Football Association that Rooney, who is available for the opening game of the season against Fulham on Sunday, would face no sanction.

"We are all disappointed but we will get on with it," said Ferguson, who made it clear that his team will not be attending the Ajax tournament again.