Ribery Signs Contract with Nike; Is He Out of Germany?
Ribery has been heavily linked with transfers out of Bayern Munich and Germany, and those rumors have been fueled by his recent re-signing with Nike against his club’s orders.
The French and Bayern Munich winger who was last year’s French and German Player of the Year, has recently signed a contract with Nike, tying him to the Oregon company until 2014. ‘Tying him to the company’ may sound ominous, but for being their poster boy, he’s going to rake in nearly $1.8 million a year, according to a German newspaper. The deal is so controversial, because Ribery is violating a clause in the contract he signed with Bayern Munich. He violated ‘Annex II’ which said: If Ribery’s agreement with the U.S. supplier Nike expires (June 30th, 2010), he should switch partners with Bayern’s kit supplier provided Adidas offers as much as Nike. Yet, he signed with full knowledge of the contract, and knowingly broke it, causing further speculation on a summer transfer, possibly into the Premier League. The club chairman told the press however, “Franck Ribéry’s contract with Nike will not affect his situation with Bayern. We will not be letting him go under any circumstances.” This proves the Frenchman plays such a key role both for club and country, much like Zidane did back in the day, earning him the nickname, “Zizou Jr.” His agent has made it clear they’re looking for a tranfer to a bigger club who is also sponsored by Nike, making Barcelona and Manchester United the obvious candidates for a summer move. It looks more like the British side because Alain Migliaccio, Ribery’s agent told the press, “If Manchester United sell Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Alex Ferguson would like to cover that transfer with Ribery’s signature.” Will Ribery’s transgression mean a move to Man U? Will he continue to wear his Nike Mercurial Superfly‘s? Only time will tell for Ribery.
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