15.05.2019 - 10:14 | Source: Sport Bild | Reading Time: 3 mins

“That was crazy back then!”

Ribéry: Real wanted him for a record fee in 2009 – Ronaldo to Madrid instead?

A day after losing in the 2010 Champions League final to Inter Milan (0:2), Bayern Munich nevertheless reported a victory: Franck Ribéry (photo), who had been courted for months, extended his contract with the German record champion, and thus did not switch to another top club. While speaking to the "Sport Bild," the 36-year-old winger now revealed which clubs wanted him.

Market Value F. Ribéry Left Winger £ 2.70 m 2.70

"I remember the transfer time well. That was from 2009 to 2010, Bayern definitely didn't want to let me go. Do you know what Uli Hoeneß said? 'Barcelona have Messi, Real Madrid have Ronaldo. And we've got you,'" Ribéry recalled.

The Frenchmen recalled, "That was crazy back then! Seven top clubs wanted to sign me. Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester United – all asked." Ribéry gave a lot of thought to his previous interest. Chelsea are said to have already bid € 80m plus Bosingwa (36) for the Frenchman's services back in 2009. "That's been hot, just as it was with Real Madrid in the same year. Real wanted to pay 65, 70 million. I really didn't know: Should I stay or leave?"

Such a sum would have been a new record not only for Bayern Munich but also by far for the entire Bundesliga. Following Ribéry's narrative, Real’s interest in him falls into the same year when the Madrileneans then paid € 94m for Cristiano Ronaldo, in turn making him the record transfer at the time.

Ribéry remained, however he will now leave Bayern in the summer. He is currently the longest serving professional in the current squad. "It's been one of the best decisions of my life to stay with Bayern. What happened in the aftermath, I couldn't have imagined better. I have to say thank you to Uli Hoeneß and my manager Alain Migliaccio again, it all went perfectly," says Ribéry, who in his time in Munich won the German championship eight times, the DFB Cup five times, and the Champions League once.

Stats F. Ribéry Left Winger Bayern Munich Career stats –

All competitions Games 425 Goals 124 Assists 182

In the summer of 2007, Bayern paid 30 million euros to Olympique Marseille for the services of the attacker. Since then, Ribéry has played 423 games, earning 123 goals and providing 182 assists. He even thought of an early end to his career in 2015 due to an ankle injury: "I initially thought the injury takes two, three weeks of time – in the end it was eight months! That was a bad time, I was thinking about the end of the career. I had a lot of appointments with the doctors, again and again an MRI, I went crazy, just said: What's going on? Can you please finally tell me? We talked a lot, but I didn't know if I could play football again."

Homepage