• France forward tells club to wait until end of season • Beckenbauer says player is 'of huge importance to Bayern'

Franck Ribéry has rebuffed Bayern Munich's first attempt to commence negotiations over a new contract and told the club to wait until the end of the season.

The French forward's contract expires in 2011 but Bayern are keen to commit him to a new deal before the summer transfer window. Ribéry had hinted that a decision would be made in March and Bayern's progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League by beating Fiorentina last week appeared to increase the likelihood of his opening negotiations.

But he has now made it clear to the Bayern director of sport, Christian Nerlinger, that he wants to wait and see how the rest of the season pans out.

"I spoke with him on Saturday and he said that he would prefer to concentrate on the sporting aspects at the moment," said Nerlinger. "I have complete understanding for that and we can even wait until the end of the season before talking."

Bayern's honorary president, Franz Beckenbauer, said he would like the club to work hard to convince Ribéry to stay.

"Franck has huge importance for FC Bayern and I have told him that Bayern is completely different since he has been here," he told the Welt newspaper. "And since Arjen Robben is also here, we have improved even more.

"We need players like Robben and Ribéry. We should definitely lean a long way out of the window to keep hold of him."

Should Ribéry not commit to a new deal, Bayern will probably look to sell him this summer, when they will still be able to command a substantial fee, rather than risk losing him on a free transfer 12 months later.

Manchester United, Arsenal and Real Madrid, among other big clubs, have been linked to Ribéry in recent seasons.