Bayern Driving Up Price for Franck Ribery

Who doesn't love Franck Ribery? The guy's awesome.

But €150M worth of love? No way.

That's what Bayern Munich general manager Uli Hoeness says the France international is worth. In the meantime, chairman Karl-Heinze Rummenigge says Ribery, who is under contract until 2011, is not for sale. The former German scoring machine says Chelsea, Barcelona and Manchester United have made offers to scoop up the sensational Ribery.

Real Madrid? Not so much, says Rummenigge.

Ribery plugs a lot of important holes for Madrid and could be the best signing of the offseason for the Galacticos if it were to happen. He's a complete player, more so than Ronaldo and Kaka, who have already started looking for pricy real estate near the Spanish capital. It makes sense he go there. He also makes a lot of sense for Chelsea, who is looking to dump a lot of former F.C. Porto stars to a certain special coach in Italy, clearing the decks for some big signing. And Barca? Well, Ribery would have no trouble finding playing time for the European champs either, especially if he's joined by the likes of Cesc Fabregas.

So what's the big whoop?

Well, the cynic in me says Bayern would sell its best player, but it has a certain number in mind for a transfer fee, and one not as exorbitant as €150M; probably closer to €100M. By dragging Real Madrid's name into the fray, Rummenigge and Hoeness are doing nothing but driving up the price.

Question is, clearly, does Madrid have enough of a credit line left to scoop up fast Franck? He would complete the biggest triple play in sporting history and simultaneously put Madrid in line to become the greatest team in football history [where's my sarcasm font?]. Would it ever lose a game?

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Maybe the greatest finish in the history of sports:

UEFA Cup: Bayern Munich Crushes Anderlecht

Bayern Munich is pouring it on Anderlect, 5-0, in the first leg of their round-of-16 matchup. Bayern has scored twice in the first half, and with five away goals, it has booked passage for the quarterfinals.

Five players have scored for the Germans.

Even scarier? Bayern is doing it minus four regulars: Oliver Kahn, Lucio, Ze Roberto and Marcell Jansen. This one's over, and so may be this tournament.

Barcelona Abused by Atletico; Juventus Loses; Bayern Beats Schalke

A couple of hours ahead of the Lisbon derby between Sporting and Benfica, let's look at what shapes up to be another great race in Spain, the curious case of Barcelona, and a trip around Europe.

SPAIN
How does Barcelona get absolutely abused at Atletico Madrid, 4-2. This was a 4-1 game for a long time after Ronaldhino's spectacular bicycle kick goal to open the scoring. Real Madrid, meanwhile, wins 3-2 against Huelva.



Barca is five points back of Real, which inched closer to a second straight title, added more mud to Frank Rijkaard's future at Barcelona. Is Jose Mourinho packing yet? He should be.

Dropping three points a few weeks ahead of what would have been a decisive derby between Barca and Real is good enough for me if I'm president Juan Laporte.

ENGLAND
Manchester United gained two points on Arsenal after its 3-0 win over Fulham, and Aston Villa's 1-1 draw at the Emirates. United is a point behind the Gunners for the Premiership lead.

The other spicy race in England is for fourth where Liverpool and cross-town rivals Everton are tooth-and-nail for the final Champions League spot.

ITALY
Fiorentina upset Juventus this morning, 3-2. Inter Travels to Napoli in about a half hour. Milan continues to slide, tying with Lazio yesterday 1-1, while Roma beat up Parma, 4-0. Inter must win to keep its eight-point edge over Roma.

GERMANY
Bayern beat Schalke04 1-0 to put coach Mirko Slomka's tenure at Schalke in deep peril. A loss Wednesday to Porto and ouster from the Champions League is likely the final straw there. Bayern is four points up on Werder Bremen.

UEFA Cup Preview: Bayern Munich Hosts Aberdeen

All eyes are on Munich today where Bayern hosts Aberdeen in the second leg of their round-of-32 UEFA Cup tie.

Aberdeen nearly pulled off a massive upset, giving up a late goal at home for a 2-2 draw I the first leg. At home today, Bayern are huge favorites to win the cup making a slipup at home today a monumental flub. Bayern will also be without Frank Ribery.

I’ve written before about intriguing I find this year’s UEFA Cup because of the big names left in it; some are teetering on elimination.

Atletico Madrid and Villareal are in trouble today. The two Spanish sides lost 1-0 in the first leg to Bolton and Zenit St. Petersburg respectively. Madrid’s Luis Garcia promised fans to treat this match like a “final.”

Sporting and Benfica are in good shape to move on to the Sweet 16. Sporting beat Basel 2-0 at home last week and should be able to finish the Swiss side today. Benfica travels to Nuremburg with a 1-0 advantage in tow, while Sporting Braga’s exit is all but assured against Werder Bremen after blowing two penalties in a 3-0 loss.

After today, the UEFA Cup could be overflowing with German, Portuguese and English teams.

Today's Matches:

• Hamburg SV v FC Zürich
• Bayer Leverkusen v Galatasaray
• Spartak Moscow v Marseille
• Panathinaikos v Rangers
• Bayern Munich v Aberdeen
• Getafe v AEK Athens
• Atlético Madrid v Bolton
• Villarreal v Zenit St Petersburg
• Bordeaux v Anderlecht
• Helsingborg v PSV Eindhoven
• Tottenham v Slavia Prague
• Fiorentina v Rosenborg
• FC Basle v Sporting Lisbon
• Everton v SK Brann
• Nurnberg v Benfica
• Braga v Werder Bremen