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Ribery signs to remain with Bayern Munich until 2015

Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery has extended his contract with the German champions until 2015, the club announced on Sunday.

Ribery signs to remain with Bayern Munich until 2015
Photo: DPA

The signing took place in Madrid after the Champions League final Bayern lost 2-0 to Inter Milan on Saturday.

“We are very happy to have reached agreement on a contract extension with one of the world’s best players,” said Bayern president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

“It’s also a sign of Bayern Munich’s grand designs for the years to come.”

France international Ribery, now set to join up with his French teammates ahead of the World Cup finals, said he too was “very happy.”

“My family and I are very happy to stay in Munich. The club has become one big family for me,” said Ribery, who arrived in Germany from Marseille in 2007 and was under contract until 2011.

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

The 27-year-old 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 kept Ribery out of Saturday’s final against Inter Milan – soon followed.

Ribery had said he wanted to sort his club future out before the World Cup in which France are drawn in Group A alongside hosts South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico.

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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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