Thiago, 29, won the Bundesliga title in each of his seven seasons with Bayern and played in last month's Champions League final victory over Paris St Germain.
The league has ruled out a 'pause' to the season to allow clubs to recover their squads, although the surging Omicron variant has put paid to half of the weekend's fixtures including Manchester United's home game with Brighton & Hove Albion.
Liverpool survived a first-half scare to reach the Champions League final with a 3-2 win at Villarreal on Tuesday that secured a 5-2 aggregate victory after the night had threatened to turn sour for Juergen Klopp's side.
Mohamed Salah hit a hat-trick as Liverpool humiliated Manchester United, romping to a stunning 5-0 victory at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday that leaves Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's future in serious doubt.
Chelsea's 0-0 home draw with second-placed United ensured Thomas Tuchel is still undefeated in nine games since replacing Frank Lampard, but it meant they failed to dislodge fourth-placed West Ham United who became Manchester City's 20th successive victims in all competitions on Saturday.
Salah himself blasted home the spot-kick and Leeds looked as though they may be in for a very long day.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold scored with a spectacular strike as they overcame the loss of three players to suspected positive COVID-19 tests and conceding an early goal to beat Newcastle United 3-1 in the Premier League on Thursday.
The Merseysiders fell behind to a Raul Jimenez goal on the break in the 38th minute, the Mexican firing home confidently after Diogo Jota robbed James Milner.
Arsenal beat Liverpool 5-4 on penalties on Saturday to lift the FA Community Shield, the curtain-raiser for the English domestic season, after the two sides played out a 1-1 draw on a chilly afternoon at Wembley.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field...
On a crazy evening it looked as though Joe Willock's screamer had earned Arsenal a memorable victory, but Liverpool proved irrepressible as their barnstorming season continued.
Vibrant Chelsea made it a torrid few days for Liverpool as goals by Willian and Ross Barkley sealed a 2-0 victory to send them through to the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. Liverpool's 44-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League ended in stunning fashion with a 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday and they were rocked again at Stamford Bridge.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool raised the spirits with a rip-roaring 2-2 draw in a pre-Christmas Premier League classic on Sunday after a weekend marred by COVID-19 related postponements.
Atalanta's Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens scored quickfire second-half goals to give them a comfortable 2-0 win over a toothless Liverpool
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Liverpool surrendered a two-goal lead as they were held to a 2-2 draw by third-tier Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday after second-half substitute Jason Cummins struck twice to inject some much-needed late magic into the competition. Earlier, Harry Maguire's thunderbolt for Manchester United started a goal rush at Tranmere where the Reds scored five times before halftime. Diogo Dalot, Jesse Lingard, Phil Jones, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood also scored.
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