Should Bayern Munich Resign Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery?

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are both older players that have approximately a year left on their respective Bayern Munich contracts. When the time comes for them to renegotiate their contracts, will they both receive extensions?

Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are seasoned veterans on Bayern Munich’s squad, both of whom will likely face contract negotiations in the next year. As world class players, it could be beneficial for Bayern Munich to offer them extensions, but the team could also choose to devote more resources to developing younger talent. In the end, will Bayern Munich offer Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery contract extensions?

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben is 32 and he has one year left on his contract. He joined Bayern Munich from Real Madrid in 2009 and he has not yet been offered a contract extension with the club. Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says that he will be offered a contract extension if he is successful this season with the club.

This season has a small sample size so far, with Bayern Munich only playing in one league game, but Arjen Robben hasn’t had the chance to be successful in the way he needs to be to get a contract extension. He’s been injured for a couple weeks, after suffering an injury in Carlo Ancelotti’s Bayern Munich debut in a friendly against Lippstadt. This injury was similar to the one that limited him to just 15 games last season.

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His inability to see the pitch as of the late might affect his ability to receive a contract extension. However, Rummenigge has led fans to believing that Robben will likely stay, saying: “He knows that he can rely on us. I believe this is the crucial criteria: We are a reliable partner, also in difficult moments, and this is a difficult moment right now.” This suggests that all looks good in terms of his contract and as of this summer, it is safe to say Bayern Munich may offer him another contract.

MUNICH, GERMANY – MARCH 02: Arjen Robben(L) of Muenchen battles for the ball with Gaetan Bussmann of Mainz during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at Allianz Arena on March 2, 2016 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Robben says of his contract and potential extension that, “I don’t give thought to a new contract right now. I want to get fit again, and stay healthy after that.”

Franck Ribery

Franck Ribery signed a new 4 year contract with Bayern in 2013 and that contract is set to expire in June of 2017. This means he still has almost a full year left of his contract before it expires, but his performance this season will likely have a direct affect on the kind of contract he will or will not be offered. As of April of this year, Ribery had not heard anything about his contract, saying, “We have yet to hold talks, but everyone knows what I am capable of. I want to keep playing as long as possible.”

The 33 year old appears to be in better form than Robben because he isn’t injured right now and is still producing in a starting lineup. He spent much of last season injured as well, but he appears to be healthy enough to be a legitimate threat. His ability to remain healthy and continue producing is his major concern in terms of a contract extension.

But, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has warned Ribery about his behavior on the field. So far this season Ribery has had two questionable encounters with players. This has lead to an ex-Bundesliga ref calling him a “ticking time bomb”. This could lead to complications in negotiating an extension.

Should Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery be offered contract extensions?

To add some clarity to this question, I will make a couple assumptions that will help answer this question. The first is that both will remain healthy for the rest of the season. This assumption seems like a stretch, but in order to properly assess their play, it is an important one. I recognize they are both older players, so it is also an assumption that they could be injured in the future.

Finally, to make this question more interesting, I will assume that there is no circumstance in which Bayern Munich can sign both Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. I assume this because at this moment, it doesn’t make a tremendous amount of sense for Bayern Munich to sign both.

Lippstadt, Germany 16.07.2016, Testspiel, SV Lippstadt 08 – FC Bayern Muenchen, Torwart Arne Kampe (SVL) gegen Arjen Robben (FCB) (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)

In terms of age, I have already mentioned that Ribery is a year older than Robben, so if Bayern really considered this a critical factor, they would select Robben. However, since they are both in their mid-thirties, the one year age difference is not a deal breaker. They’re both old. A one year difference is not and should not be a critical factor.

They are also both world class players. Ribery has proved he’s still a starter with his dominating performance in the 6-0 thrashing of Werder Bremen last week. There is no question that either of them can play at the highest levels. The question becomes, who has a style of play that best complements the current needs of Bayern Munich.

Robben’s style of play has also been colored as more selfish than Ribery’s. Some argue that this can take away from the effect of players like Robert Lewandowski because Robben is less willing to pass than Ribery. This is a divergence of style from Ribery, who is know for precise passing and distribution. Ribery is also thought to be a bigger character in locker room and arguably with fanbase.

If Bayern Munich offers one of them a contract extension, it should certainly be Franck Ribery. He offers more to the team in terms of distribution. His style of play better complements the other big threats that Bayern Munich has. He’s a fighter, with an incredible track record and the inability to give up. When it seemed like he might be heading to an early retirement because of injury, he proved again he could still produce at a world class level. He brings so much on and off the field, that Bayern Munich must offer him a contract extension if for no other reason than they do not want to play against him.