David Alaba's contract saga at Bayern Munich heralds the return of 'FC Hollywood', according to team-mate Thomas Muller.
The future of stalwart defender Alaba is the hot topic in Bavaria as his deal expires at the end of the season and the club last week withdrew their offer of a renewal.
That move came after a deadline set by Bayern passed with no agreement in sight.
Even as Bayern - the reigning European champions - continued their 100 per cent start to their Champions League defence with a late flurry of goals in Salzburg on Tuesday, ultimately running out 6-2 winners, talk centred around Alaba.
Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has said Bayern must assume Alaba will depart, although Jerome Boateng claimed his centre-back partner had the squad's backing.
For Muller, the conversation feels familiar, as he suggested a similarity to a previous era at Bayern when the club was known as 'FC Hollywood'.
The World Cup winner is just happy Alaba is able to perform while the speculation entertains onlookers.
“The [Alaba] topic has been with us for a long time,” Muller told Sky Sport. “The contract has still not been signed; there is nothing new. We'll see, I don't know. Let us be surprised by the future.
“He is his own man on the pitch for the team and is not influenced by it. At Bayern, we sometimes want you to hear something. Regardless of the discussion, David doesn't let himself be influenced and performs well.
“It's also interesting for the audience - it's nice when there's a little bit of drama at the club. I used to enjoy reading about that stuff - FC Hollywood - and now you can watch it live!”
Bayern head coach Hansi Flick also gave his thoughts on the situation following the German side's 6-2 thumping of RB Salzburg, stating that he wishes to ignore the speculation and focus solely on what happens on the pitch rather than what goes on off it.
“It's important to me that we have calm in the team and our surroundings,” Flick said. “We have a very, very important game against Dortmund on Saturday and I'm not interested in anything else. I won't say anything more about it.
“I didn't see Hasan's interview so I don't want to comment on it.”