Ribery claims Chelsea interest

14 April 2010 19:58

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery plans to make a decision on his future in the coming weeks after claiming Chelsea are one of the clubs interested in securing his services.

The 27-year-old's Bayern deal expires in 2011 but, if he does not commit himself to the Bundesliga outfit, there is little chance of them holding on to him for the final 12 months of his contract and then allowing him to walk away for free.

Asked by German television channel Sport1 whether he had a concrete offer from a club on the table, he replied: "No. There is at this time no club who say that I will come or to whom I am going. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Chelsea are still interested in me and they want me to play for them."

Ribery added: "We have still some games to play and little recovery time. Therefore I believe that I will determine in the very near future what I will do next year."

Pushed as to when, specifically, he said: "I hope in the next week or in the next 10 days."

Ribery wants a five-year contract but insisted last month economic security would not be the only factor in his decision, with his wife keen to move to sunny climes.

"I will have talks with the club leadership and with my agent," he said. "And as I already said, in a week or 10 days, when the talks have been held, I will know what the situation is."

Earlier on Wednesday, Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge expressed his determination to hold on to Ribery for next season so the club can challenge the European supremacy of Barcelona.

"We will hold talks. Our clear aim is still to extend the contract," Rummenigge said in an interview with the Bild newspaper.

"But if we do not achieve that, it doesn't automatically mean that we will sell Franck this summer. We have the goal in the future not to travel humbly to Barcelona, but rather with a chance of being at the same level. Franck is necessary to do that."

Source: PA