BAYERN INCREASE RIBERY PRICE

Bayern Munich insist they will not sell Franck Ribery now their pre-season campaign is fully under way and have increased the Frenchman's valuation to at least 100million euros (£85m).

The playmaker has been linked with Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid, and was quoted as saying that he wanted to join the Spanish giants.

But Ribery remains at the Allianz Arena and Bundesliga runners-up Bayern are adamant that they will not sell their star asset, who is under contract until 2011.

Club president Franz Beckenbauer has said that it would take €94m (£80m) to sign the ex-Marseille ace, but general manager Uli Hoeness has gone a step further.

Hoeness insists at least 100million euros (£85m) would be required to buy Ribery, however, he maintains the German giants' were only prepared to sell before 15th July.

He told ZDF before Wednesday's victory over AC Milan in the Audi Cup: "It was known to everyone we would sell him only before the 15th (July).

"We did not get the offer we wanted. A three-digit figure (in millions). We did not get it."

KAKA: REAL MOVE DECIDED IN JANUARY

Kaka has claimed his move to Real Madrid from AC Milan was decided on as early as January.

Milan had always insisted Kaka was not for sale and stunned the footballing world when they accepted a bid for the Brazil playmaker from Manchester City in the January transfer window.

Hundreds of fans turned up at Kaka's house to plead with him not to leave and although he decided to stay, he has now revealed it was because he was convinced by a phone call from Madrid.

"It wasn't exactly Florentino (Perez, Madrid president) who called, because he wasn't the president at the time." Kaka told Spanish sports daily AS. "For me it was a surprise all the fuss they created around it.

"It was the first time Milan wanted to sell me. (Milan president Silvio) Berlusconi assured me that it was only for financial reasons.

"For me it was great to see the fans outside my house showing their support for me not to leave.

"They were days of a lot of emotion, but I knew that everything was already decided."

Perez has created a stir since returning to the presidency last month, spending well over 200million euros on Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Negredo, Esteban Granero and Alvaro Arbeloa.

He is acting much like he did during his first spell in charge, the famous galacticos era, and Kaka has revealed Perez made several attempts to sign him back then.

"There was a first attempt when I arrived at Sao Paulo. It didn't work and it was then that I moved to Milan," said Kaka.

"Whenever I received offers from whatever team I always passed to Milan the responsibility of deciding on my departure. They were a club I loved and at which I was always happy.

"In six years there were offers, including some from Real Madrid. But Milan decided to open the door for me this year. First with City, but I then told them that I would only leave to go to Real Madrid."

Kaka, who is set to make his long-awaited debut on August 7, met all his new team-mates at the Peace Cup last Sunday and has started training with them for the first time this week.

The 27-year-old has vowed to propel Madrid, who ended last season empty-handed for the fourth time in six years, back to glory.

"It's excellent here," added Kaka. "I've been warmly welcomed by all my team-mates, and also the whole of the coaching staff and everyone who works for the club.

"It's been even better than I expected.

"I want to win. I hope to win trophies with Madrid and the most important of them is the Champions League.

"Moreover, the final this year will be held at the Bernabeu and that's an extra motivation.

"Everyone involved in football knows how difficult it will be to win it, but I have a great desire to win the Champions League in the Bernabeu.

"And I also would like to win La Liga, of course."

Many comparisons have been drawn between Kaka and Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.

However, the former FIFA World Player of the Year insists he still has a lot to prove before he can be regarded in the same light.

"Zidane is a football legend, both in France and at Real Madrid," said Kaka. "He is in a league of his own because he made history throughout his career. I still haven't achieved that.

"It doesn't bother me if they compare the two of us, it's normal. It's not the first time it's happened to me. Everywhere I've been they have always compared me to him.

"At Madrid I hope to use him as a role model so that I can make as much history as he did at the Bernabeu. For me, that will be paramount."

ALONSO ASKS TO LEAVE ANFIELD

Xabi Alonso's Liverpool career appeared to be coming towards an end as he arrived for training on Thursday.

The midfielder expects to hold talks with manager Rafael Benitez as Real Madrid are believed to be preparing a new, improved, bid for the 28 year-old.

And a club source has now confirmed that Alonso has submitted a transfer request, with the Spanish player having previously only told Benitez verbally that he wanted to leave the club.

Now if Madrid produce an offer of at least £28million, the chances are that Benitez will agree to sell the man he signed from Real Sociedad for £10million in August 2004.

Alonso flew back from Spain on Thursday, having spent three days with his family in San Sebastian, determined to end a summer-long saga.

Benitez has defiantly refused to let Alonso leave, and Real's only official bid of £24million was rejected. But a formal transfer request changes the situation.

Since that first bid, both parties have been engaged in a war of words over the deal, with Real president Florentino Perez maintaining that Liverpool's valuation was much too high.

Benitez had talks with Alonso during Liverpool's Far East tour last week, and tried to convince the player to stay, underlining the fans' delirious response to the player in Bangkok and Singapore as a reason to think again.

But on Liverpool's return to the UK, Benitez told Alonso that he wanted the uncertainty around the player's future to be sorted out before the weekend, one way or another.

Now the deadlock looks like being broken, just 24 hours after the two clubs agreed a £3.5million fee for Anfield full-back Alvaro Arbeloa to move to Real.

By the time that the Alonso fee is in Liverpool's coffers, and also £4million for Andrea Dossena's move to Napoli, Benitez will have around £40m to spend on the transfer market.

Benitez has already raised around £8million from the sales of Arbeloa, Sebastian Leto, Jack Hobbs and Paul Anderson.

He has been linked with Wigan midfielder Lee Cattermole, Hull defender Michael Turner, Valencia's David Silva and Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani.

Benitez is aware that the new Premier League season is little more than a fortnight away, and he needs to move quickly to find a replacement for Alonso otherwise the club's preparation for the campaign will be disrupted.

Arbeloa's move to the Bernabeu has been conducted with far less rancour.

The player passed a medical on Wednesday and has now signed a five-year contract.

He said of his time at Anfield: "Liverpool are a club with an impressive history, with lots of success.

"In England they are the team with the most titles, so I've already experienced that pressure and I hope that will help me now with this challenge, which is clearly the biggest in my career.

"I think I have become a better footballer and also matured. When you play at a club like Liverpool you have the chance to play with great players, I've also been called up by Spain and we've won the European Championships, so in these years I have learned a huge amount.

"It has made me a much better player and I hope to be able to show it, which in the end is the important thing."

The transfer will see Arbeloa rejoin the club where he began his professional career after Real plucked him from Real Zaragoza's youth set-up.

However, the full-back was restricted to just two senior run-outs during his first spell at the Bernabeu and he is determined to improve on that figure this time around.

He added: "My objective is to give it everything in training and try to win myself a place in the team, which is the objective of any player.

"And of course I want to help my team-mates and the team to win titles, which in the end is what counts."

F. TORRES WANTS ALONSO TO STAY

Striker Fernando Torres has insisted it would be "a serious loss to Liverpool" if Xabi Alonso completed a move to Real Madrid.

The Spanish giants' pursuit of the Liverpool midfielder is set to come to a head with Reds manager Rafael Benitez keen for the Spain international's future to be cleared up before his squad reassemble on Thursday following a three-day break.

It is believed Benitez has threatened to pull the plug on negotiations if Madrid do not meet his £30million valuation of the player before the weekend - and Torres is hoping his compatriot stays with the club.

The striker told The Sun: "It would be a bad piece of work if Xabi left - he plays his cards close to his chest so I don't know what is going to happen.

"I'd put Xabi's own wishes ahead of everything else, of course, but he's got three years left on his contract with us and I'd love it if he stays.

"It would be a serious loss for Liverpool if he left this summer."

Torres' views are in stark contrast to former Reds goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who has claimed a move to Real Madrid would represent a "dream come true" for Alonso.

Dudek, now the back-up goalkeeper to Iker Casillas at the Bernabeu, said: "He is Spanish and all the Spanish guys want to play for Real Madrid.

"This is a dream come true for them and Xabi knows that he's not the only one."

ARBELOA CLOSES ON MADRID MOVE

Liverpool full-back Alvaro Arbeloa claims he is close to finalising his anticipated move to Real Madrid.

Arbeloa has been linked with a move to Real throughout the summer with his chances at Liverpool likely to be more limited this season following the signing of Glen Johnson.

Real, who are also chasing Arbeloa's team-mate Xabi Alonso, are keen to increase the number of Spaniards in their squad following the big-money arrivals of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

A £4.5million fee for Arbeloa has been mooted and the Spain international believes talks over a move to Real are making positive progress.

"At present I am only focused on Liverpool, but it is true that (the deal) is nearly completed," Arbeloa told Marca.

"As I understand, it seems everything is going well and there is little left to resolve.

"It could all be sorted out this week."

Arbeloa has made almost 100 appearances for Liverpool since joining the Premier League club from Deportivo La Coruna in January 2007.

He signed for Deportivo from Real, having failed to make an impact in his first spell at the Bernabeu after playing in the youth team for current Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez.

DUDEK SAYS ALONSO HAS REAL DESIRE

Jerzy Dudek claims a move to Real Madrid would represent a "dream come true" for Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso.

Madrid's pursuit of Alonso is set to come to a head this week with Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez keen for the Spain international's future to be cleared up before his squad re-assembles on Thursday following a three-day break.

It is believed Benitez has threatened to pull the plug on negotiations if Madrid do not meet his £30m valuation of the player before the weekend, and Dudek, now the back-up goalkeeper to Iker Casillas at the Bernabeu, admits the Anfield boss holds all the cards in the prolonged transfer saga.

"I spoke to him [Alonso] just before the holidays," former Liverpool favourite Dudek revealed in an interview with goal.com.

"He is a very nice lad and he knows what is the best for him. But he cannot do anything without Benitez.

"So I don't know (what will happen), but he is a good player without question, one of the best midfielders in the world.

"He is Spanish and all the Spanish guys want to play for Real Madrid. This is a dream come true for them and Xabi knows that he's not the only one."

Alonso, who has not handed in a formal transfer request at Anfield, travelled with his Liverpool team-mates on the club's tour of the Far East last week but speculation over his future intensified yesterday when he was photographed at Madrid airport.

As it transpired, Alonso had arrived in Spain from Singapore in the morning before heading to Madrid for an internal flight to spend time with his wife and family at his home in San Sebastian.

While Alonso's absence from Liverpool was viewed as a sign of his impending departure by some, it later emerged that all of Liverpool's players had been given three days off after returning from the Far East.

The squad is due back at Melwood on Thursday, when they will begin preparations for Sunday's trip to play Espanyol in a friendly at the Barcelona-based club's new stadium.

One player unlikely to make that trip is full-back Alvaro Arbeloa, who is in the last season of his Liverpool contract and on the brink of a £4million transfer to Madrid.

Arbeloa said: "It is true that the deal is close to being completed.

"We'll see what happens in the next few days, if we can all make an effort so the negotiations come to a good end, and we all come out having benefited, which is what everyone wants.

"Everything is going forwards and everyone is in agreement. I am the one who has the most desire to sign for Madrid.

"It's a question more for the clubs. But, as I understand, it seems everything is going well and there is little left to resolve. It could all be sealed this week."

FERGUSON PLAYS DOWN REAL AIMS

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has backed his club to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo and questioned whether Real Madrid's squad has the right balance to challenge for Champions League glory.

United sold Ronaldo to Real for £80million earlier this summer, with the Spanish giants also spending huge sums to bring in Kaka from AC Milan and Karim Benzema from Lyon.

The spending was prompted by the re-election of Florentino Perez as Real president. He was criticised in his first term for building a side containing sublime talent in some areas but lacking quality and experience in others, particularly in defence.

Ferguson sees a similar pattern emerging again, a view shared by his Milan counterpart Leonardo.

"I understand all too well that losing 26 goals from a winger is hard to replace, but we will try because it is the nature of our club that the expectations never change whether you have Ronaldo or (Antonio) Valencia," Ferguson said.

"I would not like to be (Real coach Manuel) Pellegrini picking his teams."

Ferguson joked: "I told Ronaldo when he left us that they will probably be playing him at centre-half; I don't think they have one.

"It is difficult with all their individuals to pick the right balance and that is part of it."

Leonardo, whose Milan side are involved alongside United in the four-team Audi Cup in Munich, must also cope without Kaka but is also hoping Real's 'galacticos' policy will come unstuck.

Talking about the first term under Perez, he said: "They did not win so much in the end. It is not easy to construct a team with talented individuals.

"To create a team, you need something more and we hope Real Madrid don't have that. Sometimes you need more than talent to win."

A small fraction of the Ronaldo transfer fee was reinvested to sign Valencia from Wigan, and he is expected to feature against Boca Juniors tomorrow.

Ferguson has attempted to play down expectations surrounding the Ecuador star, who he believes will need time to settle in at Old Trafford.

"He has the potential and we hope he will develop and will become a star of tomorrow," he said.

"Valencia is a player we watched throughout last season.

"He is young, athletic, has good power and I think, at the age of 23, he can develop at our club."

United face Boca Juniors tomorrow evening before playing either Bayern Munich or AC Milan in Thursday's final or third-place play-off.

Ferguson added that he had done his homework on tomorrow's South American opponents via late-night television.

"If you can't sleep at three in the morning in England, then you can see Boca," he said. "And I don't sleep at three so I have seen them many times.

"They are one of the best teams in South America. We had a very competitive game with them at Old Trafford three years ago."

MILAN MAY ENTER HUNTELAAR CHASE

AC Milan coach Leonardo has confirmed his interest in Real Madrid striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, while reiterating his determination to increase his squad.

The former Brazil international has previously admitted the need to bring new faces to San Siro after the departure of Kaka to Real, and he has been linked with Juventus' David Trezeguet.

Huntelaar has also been mentioned as a target after the Dutchman backed out of a move to Stuttgart, while Tottenham and Arsenal are also thought to be tracking the former Ajax star.

Leonardo has now admitted he would be interested in the 25-year-old if Milan decide to enter the transfer market ahead of the deadline at the end of August.

He told the Italian media: "If we find the chance to invest, Huntelaar is a player we would consider."

Pre-season has not gone to plan for Leonardo, who succeeded Carlo Ancelotti this summer, following defeats to Chelsea and derby rivals Inter.

Some have questioned Milan's decision to hand the inexperienced 39-year-old his first management job, but he is keen to be offered time as his squad return to full fitness.

He added following the defeat to Inter: "I don't want to find excuses. Inter played better than us but we were really tired.

"We need a bigger group. We have players like Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso and Marco Borriello who are coming back after injuries and they need to regain fitness gradually."

BAYERN STRESS RIBERY COMMITMENT

Bayern Munich have issued a statement insisting winger Franck Ribery has always been committed to the club and has no intention of seeking a way out of his contract.

Spanish giants Real Madrid have publicly pursued the 26-year-old, who has made it clear that he would prefer to leave the Allianz Arena this summer.

Bayern, though, have stood firm over their refusal to sell.

Club president Beckenbauer was quoted in the German press on Sunday claiming Ribery "doesn't give a damn" about Bayern and only joined them to make a name for himself.

He was also quoted as suggesting Ribery was aware of FIFA's article 17, which allows a player under the age of 28 to walk away from a club after three years of his contract, when he signed his four-year deal with Bayern in 2007.

But the club have now moved to end speculation over the Frenchman's future once and for all with less than two weeks to go before the start of the Bundesliga season.

A statement from the Bayern board read: "Our player Franck Ribery has always behaved professionally, correctly and seriously.

"Bayern have at no time had and do not have the impression from Franck Ribery that he would only use Bayern in order to further his own career. He has always given himself and his abilities to the service of the team.

"Franck Ribery has never commented on the possibility of making use of FIFA Article 17."

That article appears, though, to be a source of concern for the Bavarian giants, who would like to see it removed.

The statement ended: "We would, though, be very happy if Franz Beckenbauer, in his role as a member of the FIFA Executive, would take care that Article 17, which greatly burdens the whole of professional football, be abolished and therefore more contract stability for all clubs worldwide is provided."

PEREZ WANTS REAL DEPARTURES

Florentino Perez has admitted Real Madrid's squad is now too large and is looking to sell players before making any more signings.

Club president Perez has funded an incredible spending spree this summer, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Karim Benzema all arriving at the Bernabeu.

Real have been linked with other new arrivals, including Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, but Perez is more concerned about reducing numbers now the squad has crept above the Spanish limit of 25 players.

"I will not speak about specific players. We made strategic signings very quickly and that meant that we suddenly had a huge number of players with 29 here," Perez told AS.

"We are trying to find other teams for those players who will not play a lot for us, but we have not yet managed to do that.

"For any more players to come then some will have to leave. It is not a problem of money, it is the fact that we can only have 25."

Real's main rivals Barcelona have responded this week with a major signing of their own, having brought in Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan.

Perez insists he is excited by the transfer rather than intimidated, saying: "It is good for Madrid if great players join the league and Ibrahimovic is one of those.

"It is close to what we paid for Kaka and Cristiano, but I am not offended by the critics.

"That Ibrahimovic has joined is good for the league because that means that the best in the world will play here. I want to congratulate Barcelona because he will be good for them both on the sporting side and the profit side."

BENITEZ QUIET ON ALONSO'S FUTURE

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez remained tight-lipped when quizzed on whether his side's 5-0 victory over Singapore on Sunday represented Xabi Alonso's last appearance for the Reds.

The Spain international, publicly courted by Real Madrid all summer, came on for the final 13 minutes for his first pre-season appearance.

Benitez has repeatedly stated his intent to keep Alonso at Anfield but when asked if the player would still be in England next season, he felt the question would be better directed at the 27-year-old.

"It's a question that you have to ask him," he said.

"Honestly, we've been talking about this for two months but I think that it is a question for him and not for us.

"He has three years on his contract and we know he is a great player - that's why we signed him and renewed his contract. So you have to ask him."

REAL CLOSE IN ON ARBELOA

Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa could make a £4.5million return to Real Madrid in the next few days, according to the player's agent.

The Spaniard was linked with a switch to the Bernabeu earlier in the summer but rumours had died down.

However, Arbeloa's representative, Manuel Garcia Quilon, remains in discussions with the Primera Liga giants and expects a conclusion by the start of next week.

Quilon told The Sun: "Discussions with Real are not over and I expect a solution early next week."

Real sporting director Jorge Valdano has also confirmed that the 26-year-old, who played for the club in 2004-5, remains a transfer target.

Valdano said: "Arbeloa is a basic part of our plans."

Arbeloa has one year remaining on his contract at Anfield and faces a fight for a first-team place on Merseyside following the arrival of Glen Johnson.