Footylatest.com

The Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery is in demand from all the biggest clubs in Europe, and today it has been reported that Liverpool have been made odd-on favourites to sign him, after Real Madrid refused to pay the asking price, but both Chelsea and Man Utd have also been strongly linked with him.

The question should be asked as to why he is wanted by so many top clubs. It’s not like he had a brilliant season at one of the top club’s in Europe, in fact Munich failed in their bid to retain the Bundesliga trophy this season. And even the season before, when Munich won the German domestic double, Ribery only finished 16th in the race for the Ballon D’Or. And it’s not that he plays for one of the currently best countries in Europe either, France were unceremoniously dumped out of the European Championships last summer. But you could say he made his name when he played every game for France when they got to the Final of the 2006 World Cup, just two weeks after making his international debut.

He is an intelligent 26 year-old, who is not known for his love of late-night clubbing episodes. He is of the Moslem persuasion, after converting when he desired to marry his childhood sweetheart Wahiba, and is not known for his modeling aspirations, like Beckham or Ronaldo. In fact he has unsightly scars on his face after a disfuguring car accident when he was just two-years-old, so it is unlikely you will find him on 50ft billboards wearing specialist underwear!

He is known to be supremely fit, and trains with gusto and enthusiasm, and is considered to be a better dribbler that Ronaldo, but maybe without the need for the fancy tricks. He was named the German Footballer of the Year in 2008, and was generally acclaimed as the star of Bayern’s double winning team.

He seems to have made it clear that he doesn’t want to remain in Germany next season, but has been quoted as saying he will go to Real Madrid or nowhere, which makes it even more surprising that Liverpool have been made favourites to sign him. Just last week, Carlo Ancelotti said that Chelsea were very keen to sign him, but he didn’t expect Munich to allow him to leave.

But one quote caught my eye from March, when the rumours that he wanted a move began to surface. He said: “However, I’ve never made any secret of my desire to play in England or Spain one day. These are league where there’s high-grade football and the atmosphere in the grounds gives you goose bumps as soon as you come out of the tunnel. I need a passionate environment, somewhere where I can express myself, somewhere with a little craziness.”

From that view of his philosophy, it is questionable whether he will be allowed the freedom he desires under Benitez, but possibly Chelsea or Man Utd would give him such a free rein.

But the over-riding view is that Ribery would enrich the Premiership if he should come here, and he even may up as a fans favourite, lacking the airs and graces that we are used to from our pampered stars.