Dutch midfielder Mark van Bommel, who won two Bundesliga titles and two German Cup tiles with Bayern Munich and captained the team, has joined Italian club AC Milan on what was believed to have been a free transfer. Van Bommel's contract with Bayern had five months left on it.

"It was Mark's express wish to be released from his contract early for sporting reasons, in order to be able to move to AC Milan immediately," Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said. "Mark was always a model professional, an important and successful player for Bayern Munich, and also a fantastic captain."

German daily Bild reported that relations between van Bommel and Bayern's Dutch coach Louis van Gaal had become severely strained with Van Bommel admitting he did not say goodbye to his coach, who guided Bayern to a Bundesliga title last season as well as to the final of the UEFA Champions League.

Van Bommel joined Bayern in 2006 in a $8.1 million from Barcelona.