Bayern Munich has pledged to redouble its efforts to find Chinese soccer talents.

"We are ready to sign players from China and are very much looking forward to it," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The 1974 World Cup winner said it would be fantastic to see Chinese players donning the Bavarian giant's shirt on the pitch.

Past efforts to find top-class players have failed, Rummenigge added, but Bayern is determined to continue its search.

Presenting the 2020 "Audi Digital Summer Tour", the 64-year-old said Chinese fans' engagement with social media channels had encouraged the reigning German champion to expand its digital outreach.

"We have many different markets. Wanting to be close to our fans in China in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is our obligation to be more active on social media," said Joerg Wacker, Bayern board member for international development and strategy.

Until Aug 2, Bayern is delivering additional digital content to its 4,500-plus fan clubs such as live streams of training, a friendly match against Marseille, interviews and highlight shows.

Bayern will resume its quest to repeat its 2013 treble when its takes on Chelsea in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. The German side leads 3-0 from the first leg in London, with Rummenigge confident Bayern will progress to the quarterfinals. The last eight, along with the semifinals and final, will be contested as one-off games in Lisbon from Aug 12-23.

Rummenigge has urged FIFA to rethink its decision to skip this season's Ballon d'Or because of the pandemic. He reckons Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski deserves to get the chance to win the award, saying the Polish hotshot "is maybe delivering the best season of his entire career".

"I intend to call FIFA president Gianni Infantino to talk to him about that. After all, it's FIFA that is running the campaign," said Rummenigge.

The Bayern supremo is also angry at UEFA, accusing European soccer's governing body of a missed opportunity to level soccer's financial playing field after Manchester City's two-year ban from European competition was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

UEFA had found City guilty of breaking financial-fair-play (FFP) rules before CAS ruled in big-spending City's favor earlier this month.

Rummenigge said the trial hadn't been prepared for well enough by UEFA and that the FFP rules need to be modified "to get back to their original intention of forcing clubs to keep income and spending in balance".

"We need a solution that all involved can confirm and live with. We need to get agents, players and clubs behind the line," he said.

However, Rummenigge added that he is happy for City coach Pep Guardiola because the former Bayern boss "can be part of next season's competition".

Rummenigge also said that he is not optimistic that a salary cap could be introduced for players because it would violate European Union employment laws.

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