A few years back, an injury-free Franck Ribery was among the best attacking players in the world.
In the peak of his powers, the Frenchman was devastating and regularly tormented opposition players for Bayern.
Back in 2008, Ribery was a man in demand and Chelsea were keen on bringing him to the Premier League and adding him to their already talented squad.
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Bayern chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has been speaking about how desperate Chelsea were to land Ribery nine years ago, but it was a rather strange offer that Bayern received for their top player.
The former striker, who scored over 200 goals for Bayern, recalls the time that Chelsea offer a massive 65m euros to try and snap up Ribery, but they also wanted to include the sale of right-back Jose Bosingwa as part of the deal.
In all fairness, if you try and give Jose Bosingwa to Bayern Munich, they are most likely going to turn it down. You'd think they'd probably prefer the money on its own.
However, it turns out that Bayern had been chasing the Portuguese defender for quite some time.
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Anyway, Rummenigge called the offer for Ribery "almost unbelievable" but went on to say the fact that Bayern held firm and did not sell him was a turning point for the club.
Speaking to German outlet Bild, 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'."
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It's fair to say that since then, Bayern have been prolific in recruiting some of the best players in world football and have been the dominant force in German football. They have finished as league winners in the Bundesliga in five of the past seven seasons.
Coincidentally, Bosingwa and Ribery lined up against one another in the 2012 Champions League final, where Chelsea beat Bayern on penalties in their own backyard.
(h/t Sport Witness)
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich