Real set to relaunch pursuit of Ribery – report

Real Madrid could relaunch their bid to sign Bayern Munich’s French midfielder Franck Ribery by offering two of their Dutch internationals plus 30 million euros to the Bundesliga giants, reports said Thursday.

The Spanish giants said earlier this month their mega pre-season spending spree had ended with the capture of Xabi Alonso from Liverpool.

However sports dailies Marca and AS claim the Spanish giants are desperate to loosen Bayern’s grip on Ribery.

Real failed to sign the French midfield star this summer in the face of stiff opposition from Bayern but Real president Florentino Perez “is still not ruling out Ribery” ahead of the close season transfer deadline on August 31, Marca said Thursday.

Marca and AS said the midfielder, who is keen to join Real, issued a “new challenge” to Bayern by playing for France on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifying match against the Faroe Islands even though he has not played for his club this summer due to injury.

Marca said “the key” to capturing Ribery may be for Real to offer two of their Dutch internationals plus cash to Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal, a Dutchman. Real “would be ready to offer two of its Dutchmen and more than 30 million euros for Ribery,” it said.

Real would thus be able to make “an appetising offer to the German team as the amount would surpass 60 million euros — 30 in cash and a bit more than 30 more for the players released, a figure approaching the 80 million that Bayern was demanding at the start of the summer for Franck Ribery”.

Perez has splashed out over 250 million euros on the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema as he seeks to make the nine-times European champions a formidable force again.

Real are still looking to offload Dutchmen Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Royston Drenthe and Rafael Van der Vaart.