Bayern turn down $112 million Ribery bid

Paris: Bayern Munich turned down a bid of €80 million (US$112 million) from Real Madrid for its winger Franck Ribery, according to a French newspaper report.Sports daily L`Equipe reported Thursday that the Spanish team made the offer three weeks ago, but that Bayern`s chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Bayern manager Uli Hoeness rejected it. No further details were given.

Hoeness confirmed there had been an approach for Ribery, but that Madrid had baulked at Bayern`s asking price of at least €100 million (US$140 million). Bayern demanded a "three-digit" fee for Ribery, and when Real no longer showed interest, "we said, `then he stays,"` Hoeness told the Abendzeitung newspaper on Thursday. Earlier this month, the 26-year France winger said he wanted to leave Bayern to join Madrid, which has recruited heavily since Florentino Perez`s return as president. Perez has secured several transfer signings including those of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, Kaka from AC Milan and Lyon`s France forward Karim Benzema Two weeks ago, Bayern threatened to report Madrid to FIFA, world football`s governing body, if it continued its aggressive pursuit of Ribery. Several comments by Zinedine Zidane - who is working as a special adviser to Perez and is close to Ribery - appeared to irk the German team. "Everybody is speaking about Ribery`s transfer. Above all Zidane says `blah, blah, blah...` It seems a lack of respect to us," Hoeness told sports daily AS at the time. Ribery`s contract is due to expire in 2011. He has scored 20 league goals in 53 games for Bayern, although injuries have hampered him during his two seasons at the Bavarian club. Bayern`s Belgium defender Daniel Van Buyten said he expects Ribery to stay. "We know the German directors. When they make a decision, it`s very hard to go against them. Judging by what they said, I think Franck will stay," Van Buyten told L`Equipe TV on Thursday. "I hope the decision that`s taken is the best for both (parties). For us players, as long as Franck is at Bayern, all we want is to see him on the pitch." Bureau Report