Bayern Munich signs Suele and Rudy from Hoffenheim

MUNICH (AP) - German champion Bayern Munich has signed center half Niklas Suele and central midfielder Sebastian Rudy from Hoffenheim, with both players due to complete the season with their current club before joining on July 1.

Bayern said Sunday on its website that Rudy - who is out of contract in the summer - has signed a three-year deal until 2020 while Suele has agreed a five-year deal until June 2022.

"Signing two Germany internationals is an investment in FC Bayern's future," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Sebastian Rudy joins us on a free transfer. In the case of Niklas Suele we have reached a fair and serious agreement with Hoffenheim."

The 26-year-old Rudy has played 177 league games for Hoffenheim since joining from Stuttgart in 2010, while the 21-year-old Suele is a homegrown talent and has made 90 league appearances with the club.

"In terms of it being a farewell I feel a little wistful," Suele said on Bayern's website, adding that the move gives him the chance of "maturing further with one of the best teams in the world."

Suele's signing appears to be linked to the form of long-serving Bayern defender Holger Badstuber, who has been sent on loan to Schalke to get more game time.

The long-serving center-back has struggled with injuries in recent years and is not in Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti's plans, having played only three games this season, starting just once.