Rummenigge keen on keeping Ribery

(GSM) – Bayern München president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has admitted that his club will do anything to convince Franck Ribery to extend his current deal at the Allianz Arena.

Ribery’s contract expires in 2011 but if he doesn’t sign a new deal before the summer he is likely to be sold, as Bayern would risk losing him on a free transfer 12 months later.

“Extending Franck’s contract is our absolute priority,” Rummenigge told Die Welt.

“If we had wanted to sell him, we would have had to do that last summer.

“We had some really big offers then, particularly from England. But we all agreed to keep him. We want to have the best players at FC Bayern and Franck is currently one of the best in the world.

“We won’t throw everything into the mixer, but we will throw in a lot to convince Franck to stay in Munich.”

Rummenigge also told the French winger that his future at Bayern is as much in his own hands as it is the club’s.

“We need him because then I think we have a good chance to compete on a par with Europe’s top clubs,” added Rummenigge.

“Franck is hungry for success and I don’t think a contract extension is purely dependent on the financial side of things.

“It is up to him. We recently told him: ‘Franck, it is hard to stop you on the field. You can do things alone and decide things in our favour’. We want to keep hold of him because he is so extraordinary and that would be good for us and the Bundesliga.”

Ribery’s future is expected to become clear by the end of the month, and if Bayern were to qualify for the last eight of the Champions League with at least a draw against Fiorentina tonight it would put them in a more favourable negotiating position.

“Franck would like to become a Bundesliga champion and be successful in Europe and also play a successful role with the France national team,” stated Rummenigge.

“I think we can help him and give him the best surroundings for that.”