Kevin de Bruyne's proposed move to Manchester City was nearly called off on the request of Wolfsburg sponsors Volkswagen, according to reports.
The Sunday People claims that the car company pushed Wolfsburg to accept a bid from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich instead.
Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn is also on the board of Bayern and wanted to bring De Bruyne to the Allianz Arena, but Bayern were unable to reach Wolfsburg's asking price for the 24-year-old.
The Belgian is on the verge of completing a £58m move to Manchester City.
