Manchester United and Chelsea have Ribery bids rejected by 'powerful' Bayern Munich

16 June 2009 12:46
Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona have all had offers rejected for France playmaker Franck Ribery, according to Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Ribery is also a target for big-spending Real Madrid, who have been in contact about the player, but Rummenigge has warned: 'The power lies with Bayern Munich.' Rummenigge revealed that United, Chelsea and Barcelona have stolen a march on Madrid in their pursuit ofthe 26-year-old.   The former Germany international, speaking in an interview with Bildnewspaper, said: 'We are relaxed and proud that we have one of the bestthree players in the world under contract.   'Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and his advisor PedroJimenez asked if we were willing to speak with them over a transfer butwe rejected the chance and we have no intention of selling Ribery.'   Asked if Madrid made an offer, he replied: 'No but other clubs have done.   'Chelsea have lodged a bid, as have Manchester United and Barcelona.  'We are completely relaxed about it. The power lies with Bayern Munich.'   Bayern have repeatedly insisted Ribery is not for sale and Rummenigge is adamant the club will not relent and cash in on their prize asset.  'I don't want to talk about sums of money because it is not in our interest,' he added.  'The amount is irrelevant. There is always going to be the perception that Bayern Munich are trying to push the price up and that there is a certain value at which we'll have to accept, but I'll say itagain: we want to keep Ribery.  'A player has to respect his contract, in his case until 2011. Heis on holiday now and then we want to have a successful season with Franck next year.'  Rummenigge is worried at the figures being splashed around thissummer with Real Madrid having spent £56million on Kaka and agreeing aworld-record £80m fee with Manchester United for Cristiano Ronaldo. 'It makes me concerned for the future,' he said. 'These amounts would not be possible in Germany due to the license agreements but in Spain the rules are different.  'I have already arranged a meeting with (UEFA president) Michel Platini to discuss the matter. We need to have new rules regarding financial fairplay.' United have also asked Valencia about striker David Villa but look likehaving to watch Real and Barcelona battle it out for the signing. United are continuing to monitor teenage Gremio midfielder Douglas Costa. Real Madrid, meanwhile, have been in contact with various Premier League clubs in a desperate bid to claw back some of their £136m outlay on Ronaldo and Kaka. Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Gabriel Heinze, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rafael van der Vaart are among the list of available players. But as yet Madrid have only had enquiries from Tottenham for Van Nistelrooy and claim Manchester City are interested in Robben.

Source: Daily_Mail