Bayern Munich insist that extending Franck Ribery's contract is their No.1 priority.
Bundesliga giants eager to agree new deal with France ace
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge insists that extending Franck Ribery's contract is their No.1 priority.
Ribery, who is out of contract in summer 2011, was strongly linked with a move away from the Bundesliga giants, with Real Madrid known to be suitors.
The France international winger is still to commit his future to the Allianz Arena and Bayern will not allow him to leave for nothing when his deal expires.
Rummenigge revealed that there was interest from the Premier League in the talented playmaker and they have no desire to part with his services.
Big offers
"Extending Franck's contract is our absolute priority," Rummenigge told the
Welt newspaper. "If we had wanted to sell him, we would have had to do that last summer.
"We had some really big offers then, particularly from England. But we all agreed to keep him.
"We want to have the best players at FC Bayern and Franck is currently one of the best in the world.
"We won't throw everything into the mixer, but we will throw in a lot to convince Franck to stay in Munich."
Rummenigge has also told the France winger that his future at Bayern is as much in his own hands as it is the club's.
Extraordinary
"We need him because then I think we have a good chance to compete on a par with Europe's top clubs," added Rummenigge.
"Franck is hungry for success and I don't think a contract extension is purely dependent on the financial side of things.
"It is up to him. We recently told him, 'Franck, it is hard to stop you on the field. You can do things alone and decide things in our favour'.
"We want to keep hold of him because he is so extraordinary and that would be good for us and the Bundesliga."
