We want to extend Franck’s stay

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s main task on Friday lunchtime was to analyse the Champions League draw live on FCB.tv, although he also clarified the official position regarding a number of players and personalities. The Bayern chairman took questions from supporters on Franck Ribéry’s future, the club’s transfer plans, and the question of Uli Hoeneß’s successor. fcbayern.de summarises the key statements.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on…

…Franck Ribéry: “Franck has a contract with us until 30 June 2011. We know what he’s worth to us. He’s an extremely important player. He’s really shaken up the league since returning from injury, and it’s no accident we’ve steadily worked our way up the table since then. We’re proud and happy to have him here at Bayern. We had enquiries for Franck last summer, but we didn’t stop for one second and consider releasing him from his contract – quite the opposite, as we’ll try and have Franck sign an extension in 2009. No amount of money in the world would persuade us to change our opinion.“

…the club’s winter transfer plans: “We have a great team, evidenced by the fact we’ve gone sixteen games unbeaten. So we don’t need any new faces. The only thing we’ve done is take Landon Donovan on loan until 16 March 2009. We’ll wait and see how he gets on before deciding whether to extend the loan. We’re not planning to release players either, except for José Sosa, who we’d like to send out on loan. We want him to stake his claim at Bayern by playing regularly for another club.“

…Uli Hoeneß’s successor: “The board and the supervisory board have agreed to discuss the issue in January. We know the choice will be extremely difficult. Uli Hoeneß is the soul of Bayern Munich, and we’re aware of how much he’s done for the club. FCB has grown steadily under his leadership, so finding a successor will be all the more difficult. However, it’s an issue we have to solve.“