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Bayern set to pay Ribery club’s highest salary ever

Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery will sign a three-year contract extension that will make him the club's highest ever earner and keep him with the German champions until 2015, it was reported Friday.

Bayern set to pay Ribery club's highest salary ever
Photo: DPA

Daily Bild said Ribery, who has endured arguably one of his toughest seasons both on and off the pitch, would on Saturday sign a deal worth €10 million a year.

Although he still has a year left on his current contract the paper said Ribery’s new deal would begin on July 1, 2010. If confirmed it would make him the club’s highest ever earner – and would be good news for both club and 27-year-old Ribery, who moved to Bayern from Marseille in 2007.

Bayern began the season warding off the attentions of European giants like Real Madrid, who were looking to sign Ribery.

The French international then suffered a series of injuries that scuppered his season, and last month he hit the headlines after being implicated in a scandal involving an underage escort girl.

The affair reportedly turned Real Madrid off Ribery’s scent. On-field frustrations, in the shape of a three-game UEFA ban for a nasty tackle during the Champions League semi-final against Lyon – which will keep Ribery out of Saturday’s final against Inter Milan – soon followed.

Ribery, however, will be in Madrid Saturday to sign his contract extension with Bayern, according to Bild which cited “reliable French sources.”

Representatives for Ribery and Bayern reportedly met Thursday at the Madrid hotel where Bayern Munich are staying prior to the final.

Ribery said recently he wanted to sort his club future out before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which begins on June 11. And Bayern have been making special efforts in recent weeks to keep Ribery at the club, where – in spite of his difficult season – he is largely adored by fans.

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RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

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