Real gives up hope on Ribery – director general

Real Madrid have resigned themselves to the fact that they will not be able to recruit French international Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich this season due to the German club’s intransigence, Real director general Jorge Valdano says.

“We have the feeling that Ribery will not quit Bayern this season,” he told radio Marca late Tuesday.

“Bayern finds many ways to say no, sometimes saying it categorically, sometimes by talking of a transfer fee of 80 million euros, which is another way of saying no,” he added.

“So it is with resignation that we will wait for another opportunity which will certainly come. He has two years left on his contract with Bayern, and well, life is long,” Valdano said.

German daily tabloid Bild reported on Tuesday that Bayern had set a price tag of 80 million euros on the 26-year-old midfielder and had given Real until July 16 to decide if they are ready to stump up the cash or not.

Bayern’s new coach Louis van Gaal said Sunday that the issue of a possible transfer would be resolved faster as the uncertainty is bad both for Ribery, who has said he wants to go to Real, and the team which is upset with the battle raging on the future its star player.

Valdano also told Radio Marca that Real’s efforts to recruit Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso had cooled in the face of Liverpool’s demand of 47 million euros for the player.

“They demanded a transfer amount that was too high for our taste. It is possible that the emergence of a club like Real Madrid, which has emerged with such determination on the market has generated confusion in some clubs. They think that Real Madrid is a bottomless pit but not true,” he said.

According to sports daily Marca, Real “has activated a plan B” and is negotiating the possible transfer of Italian international Daniele De Rossi from AS Roma for a maximum of 30 million euros.