Rummenigge: Rejecting £56m Chelsea bid made Bayern as a club

Daniel Roberts

Chelsea once had a £56million bid for a Bayern star rejected – a moment that ‘made’ the German side, according to club chief.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chief executive officer at Bayern Munich, has revealed that the Bundesliga side turned down a mega offer from Chelsea for Franck Ribery almost 10 years ago.

And turning down the offer has real significance to Rummenigge, who believes that it was officially the day Bayern become a big club.

Speaking to SportBild, he said: “The offer we had for Franck Ribery in 2008 was almost unbelievable.

“The decision not to sell Franck Ribery nevertheless was a milestone in the development of FC Bayern. That was the moment when FC Bayern got to be a ‘buying club’.”

Ribery remains at Bayern a decade after joining the club from Marseille and now plays under former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Rumours around Chelsea’s interest in Ribery had circled around for several years and the 33-year-old finally admitted last year that Ancelotti attempted to bring the winger to Stamford Bridge in 2009.

“Ancelotti already wanted to sign me in 2009 when he was with Chelsea.

“That means he likes me as a player and that is obviously great.”