Xherdan Shaqiri has been told he can leave Bayern Munich this winter, according to the Bundesliga club's honorary president Franz Beckenbauer.
Shaqiri has been linked with a host of clubs in Europe, including Liverpool, Juventus and Napoli, although his hopes of leaving had been repeatedly dampened by the Bundesliga club.
The Switzerland international said he would have joined Liverpool in the summer had Bayern not vetoed the move while he has bemoaned his lack of match action and asked for talks about his future.
Those talks may not now be necessary with Beckenbauer revealing the 23-year-old's wish to leave Bayern has been granted.
"Bayern have already signalled to him that he can probably leave in the winter break, if he wants to," Beckenbauer told Sky Sport Deutschland. "I think it's a shame, though, because he's amazingly talented."
Shaqiri, who joined Bayern from FC Basel for 12 million euros in 2012, has suffered from the fierce competition for places in the German champions' midfield, particularly since Pep Guardiola took over from Jupp Heynckes as coach.
He has started only three times in the Bundesliga this season, making a further five appearances from the bench, while in two-and-a-half seasons with Bayern, he has made a total of 51 Bundesliga appearances, scoring 11 times. Over half of those appearances -- 26 -- came in just one campaign under Heynckes.