French international players are often linked to flee from the Allianz Arena, although he was still bound by contract until 2011.

Ribery could be sold in the next season if they are not willing to do a new contract extension. Even President Bayern, Uli Hoeness said that the two big clubs like Real Madrid and Chelsea are interested in Ribery.

“It will be faster. We’ll know before the end of the season. At about two, two and a half months away. I want to know before the World Cup.”

Ribery lost most of the first half of the season because of a series of injuries and in 2010 started the year with back injuries.

City, who are in talks with AC Milan over a possible world record transfer for Brazilian playmaker Kaka, will pay close to 20 million euro ($26.29 million) for the 24-year-old former Ajax Amsterdam holding midfielder, according to German media.

“We have had contact with Manchester City and have agreed to release the player if he can strike a deal with the English club,” Hamburg spokesman Joern Wolf told Reuters.

“Now it is up to the player and his agent to agree on a contract with that team.”

De Jong, whose contract with Hamburg expires in 2010, had confirmed late last week he had received an offer and said he still had two weeks to decide before the end of the transfer period. On Monday he said the deal was far from done.

“I cannot say anything. Nothing is finished,” he told reporters upon the team`s return from a training camp in Spain.

Hamburg coach Martin Jol said that if the deal went through, the funds would be used to bolster his squad.

“My idea is to take a step back in order to move three steps forward,” Jol told reporters.

City, in the bottom of half of the Premier League table, are the richest club in the world after being taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group.

Antara News

A specialist determined that the Romanian international ruptured a thigh muscle, though the club are yet to put a timescale on his absence as the injury is still being assessed.

The 23-year-old former Shakhtar Donetsk striker left VfB’s training camp in Portugal to begin rehabilitation in Stuttgart.

Marica will surely not be back in time for when they recommenceme their Bundesliga campaign against Gladbach on January 31 and at this point it is looking doubtful that he will be back in time for VfB’s next Uefa Cup match against Zenit St. Petersburg next month.

Derek Wanner, Goal.com

Lucio joined Bayern Munich from the fellow Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen in 2004, where he spent three seasons at. Since this time, the Brazilian has gone on to become one of the best defenders in the competition, and he is the current vice-captain of the successful German outfit.

Despite this however, the 30-year-old’s time at the club is nearing an end, as the Bavarians seem unwilling to discuss the future of his contract with him.

With this in mind, the World Champion of 2002 has declared that he would like to move elsewhere, with the hope of challenging himself further in his illustrious career.

“I had five fantastic years in Munich, but now I want to find a club that’s even more significant, because I still have so much time to experience new things in my career,” Lucio declared in an interview, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.

“My contract expires here in 2010, and the club are yet to discuss any form of extension, so I think that I could leave on a mutual agreement, he added.

“I have tried to speak with the likes of AC Milan and Real Madrid in the past, but that was a while ago, so maybe they may be interested this time around,” he optimistically concluded.

Bayern have an already made replacement for Lucio, with that being the 19-year-old Brazilian defender Breno, who joined the club in December 2007 from Sao Paulo in Brazil.

Adrian Del Monte