Bayern received 'immoral' bid for Ribery

Posted Friday, August 16, 2013 by Foxsports.com

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge revealed that Franck Ribery had been the subject of a bid close to the €100 million mark in the past.

Ribery has been nominated for the UEFA Best Player of the Year award alongside La Liga superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

There has been much debate over which player would take the top gong given by the association which is also considered in some circles as a precursor to the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Both Messi and Ronaldo have had excellent seasons on a personal front but Ribery really came to the fore by leading Bayern to a continental treble last term.

Speaking to Sport Bild magazine, Rummenigge extolled the player's virtues and talked about a big-money offer, reported in the British media as having been made by Chelsea, for the Frenchman.

"We received an immoral amount of money [for Ribery]," he said.

"We really weren't far short of 100 million euro and of course you do ponder whether a player can be worth so much."

"For me, there are too few Bayern players nominated [for the award]. For example, Thomas Müller would also have deserved it.

"He had a great season as well and it's a real shame for him."

Meanwhile, Ribery also revealed to the newspaper that he was approached by Barcelona, the former side of current coach Pep Guardiola, in the same year.

"My France team-mate Eric Abidal, who played under Pep Guardiola at Barcelona, approached me in 2008-09," Ribery said.

"Of course, I did consider joining Barcelona at the time. They had the best team in the world back then.

"It was not an easy situation. I had an ongoing contract with Bayern and I have always respected the club, also because of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness, who are very important to me.

"I first spoke to Guardiola after our Champions League exit in 2009. He approached me after the 1-1 in Munich to congratulate me with my performance and told me I'm the best.

"That meant a lot to me."