Ribery hits back at claims he touted Alaba to Real Madrid

Paul Macdonald

• Updated: 20 May 2021 05:26 CDT
• 2 min read

Former Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has strongly denied claims that he facilitated David Alaba’s proposed move to Real Madrid.

The Austrian defender’s contract with the Bavarian giants is up at the end of the current campaign, and he’s widely expected to depart after a trophy-laden 13-year spell at the Allianz Arena.

A four-year deal has reportedly been struck with Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid, which has led to suggestions that Ribery made contact between his compatriot and former teammate, something the 37-year-old refutes.

“No, that is not correct. So far, I haven’t talked to Zinedine Zidane about David, he hasn’t even got David’s number about me, as was already written,” said the Fiorentina wide man when asked about the rumours in an interview with Sport Bild.

“If Zizou wants to know something, I will tell him – but I’m not going to take sides or approach him. It is David’s life, he has to make a decision himself.”

Ribery and Alaba formed a formidable partnership on the left-hand side of Bayern’s attack for many years until the Frenchman departed in the summer of 2019.

Since then, Alaba has gone on to win his second Champions League title with the club and now believes he has achieved everything he can with the Bundesliga’s most successful side.

Ribery is still hoping that a solution can be found between player and club, although he knows it is not always that simple in football.

“The situation is not easy, but I still hope that David and Bayern will find a very good solution. But sometimes it doesn’t fit. This is life, this is football.”

Madrid are trailing their city rivals Atletico Madrid by seven points in La Liga, and with Sergio Ramos ageing and Eder Militao struggling to settle at the Bernabeu, Alaba is seen as the perfect signing to reassert their domestic and continental dominance.