Bayern wants Ribery to stay

Bayern Munich would like to give Franck Ribery a long-term contract extension, although it remains to be seen whether the France winger will accept it, the Bundesliga club's chairman said Friday.

Bayern's "clear goal" is to keep Ribery long-term despite efforts from other clubs to sign him, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Friday's edition of the Munich newspaper TZ.

"I would throw a lot onto the scales to keep him. Whether that will succeed, I can't predict," Rummenigge said.

Bayern will discuss a contract extension with Ribery at a "convenient time," Rummenigge said.

Ribery's contract expires at the end of the next season. The winger often has been linked with other top European clubs, but Ribery said earlier this month that he would not rule out staying in Munich.

Rummenigge, in an interview with another Munich newspaper, Abendzeitung, said talented midfielder Toni Kroos will return to Bayern after this season.

Kroos has been loaned to Bundesliga leader Bayer Leverkusen, which has expressed interest in keeping him.

"Toni Kroos will return to Bayern in the summer, 100 percent," Rummenigge said. "There is no discussion in Bayern at all that he could remain in Leverkusen."

Kroos has played well in Leverkusen and Germany coach Joachim Loew has said Kroos could be a candidate for the World Cup team.