Ribery refuses to reverse France retirement

Franck Ribery has no intention of ending his international retirement with France, re-iterating his desire to focus on Bayern Munich.

The 31-year-old winger called time on his national-team career last month after a back injury forced him to miss the World Cup.

Ribery’s announcement drew criticism from UEFA president Michel Platini, who warned his countryman that he could face a domestic ban with Bayern if he refused a call-up from France coach Didier Deschamps.

However, the former Marseille man insists he will not alter his position and says that his primary concern is on his duty with the Bundesliga champions.

“I have already said before I have retired from international duty and I will not go back on my decision,” Ribery said in an interview with Die Welt.

“I have discussed this with France coach Deschamps and we reached an agreement on it.

“I want to focus completely on Bayern Munich in the future. That’s all I want to say about the matter. I am not going to get involved in all the politics surrounding my decision.”

Ribery missed the start of Bayern’s campaign with a knee injury but is in line for a comeback in Saturday’s encounter with Stuttgart at the Allianz Arena.

“I am fit and able to train again,” he added. “The injury was very unfortunate for me because I had a good pre-season.

“Now I have worked very hard in recent weeks with our fitness coaches. This has been effective. Moreover, it did me good that I was not travelling with the national team as I have more time and energy to retrieve my fitness.”