By Declan Taylor
Former Chelsea ace Arjen Robben will snub a new deal at Bayern Munich after his row with Franck Ribery – which could pave the way for a second spell in the Premier League.
Manchester City, Tottenham and have all been linked with a move for the flying Dutchman, 28, who has become one of the most feared wingers in Europe.
Any move to England looked dead in the water after it emerged that Robben was on the verge of extending his stay in Munich by signing a fresh contract until 2015.
But, according to German newspaper Bild, Robben is now unlikely to agree to the deal and will look elsewhere this summer after a run-in with Frenchman Ribery.
It was reported that the teammates came to blows at half-time of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final first leg victory over Real Madrid, during which the pair openly rowed over who would take a free-kick.
It has been revealed that Bayern, who have been keen to downplay the incident, arranged a lunch between the pair the day after the clash in a bid to patch things up.
But Robben is reportedly unhappy in the way that Bayern have kept quiet, instead of supporting him – and was furious when they fined Ribery just £40,000 for the offence, a fraction of his weekly wage.
So unhappy were the midfielder and his agent, who is also his father, that they have decided to snub the new contract – and could begin to look elsewhere.
Robben is out of contract in June 2013, when he could leave on a free, so Bayern may decide to cash in this summer to avoid a cut-price fee in January.
Bayern’s president Uli Hoeness confirmed: “All I know is that he was just about to put pen to paper, and now that has all been postponed.”
