BERLIN (AFP) - Former Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has reportedly dropped out of the running as a possible head coach of Bayern Munich next season, according to reports on Sunday (March 25).

Both German daily newspapers Bild and Munich-based Sueddeutsche Zeitung claim the 44-year-old has told the runaway German Bundesliga leaders that he is no longer interested in succeeding Jupp Heynckes.

The Sueddeutsche Zeitung say senior Bayern figures Uli Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and sports director Hasan Salihamidzic held a telephone conference with Tuchel on Friday, but failed to persuade him.

Tuchel's agent, Olaf Meinking, was not available for comment on Sunday.

Dortmund fired Tuchel at the end of last season, despite winning the German Cup, following a falling-out with the club.

According to German magazine Kicker, he is in talks with Arsenal about replacing Arsene Wenger, while Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly also interested.

It is unclear who will coach Bayern next season as Heynckes has not made his plans clear, despite Bayern's best attempts to persuade him to sign a contract extension.

With Tuchel no longer an option, RB Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl and Eintracht Frankfurt coach Nico Kovac have both been linked to the job, but both are under contract.

The same applies to German-speaking Swiss coach Lucien Favre, now at Nice in the French league, who is another candidate, according to the German media.

Bayern are currently 17 points clear in the Bundesliga and are on the verge of winning a sixth straight German league title.