Western Sydney Wanderers have officially pulled out of the race to sign Franck Ribery with coach Markus Babbel declaring the club aren’t ready for a player of his calibre.
Babbel had previously reached out Ribery, who left Bayern Munich at season’s end and is looking for a new challenge after over a decade in the Bundesliga.
While a possible deal was always going to be difficult to negotiate, Babbel himself decided against pursuing the French winger.
“I decided that I did not want (Ribery) because I don’t think we are ready for a player like him,” Babbel told The Age.
“First we need to get success to have this feeling in the club…then maybe we can think about a player like him.
“I think too many players at the moment are scared if a big player comes in. For a name like this category, at the moment I think we are not ready.
“This is my feeling, we have many many young players there and if a player like him is coming to us, I think the respect is too high.”
While the Wanderers coach may have decided against a move for Ribery, the 36-year-old’s salary was always going to be a hurdle with Babbel revealing a huge offer from the Middle East has been made.
“Franck is looking for the money. The number is unbelievable,” he said.
“I was talking to his agent, I know he has an unbelievable offer from Qatar and this is definitely impossible to pay him in Australia.”
With Ribery now ruled out, Western Sydney have reportedly turned their attention to signing a foreign striker but it’s unlikely to be a household name.
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