Franck Ribery nearly left Bayern Munich for Real Madrid during the summer of 2009.

"I went through a difficult period in 2009 when [Louis] van Gaal arrived at the club," Ribery, who has a contract at the Allianz Arena until June 2017, told Sport Bild.

"Not just because I didn't get along very well with Van Gaal, but also because a lot of clubs wanted me: Juventus, Inter, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

"My agent and Real Madrid's representatives had already held a number of talks. My wife told me that she was happy to move to Madrid if that was what I wanted to. Everything was ready to go.

"The situation is different now. She would ask me whether I'm crazy if I proposed a move.

"I was still a bit younger then and was shocked about all the interest. I didn't know what to do and was on the verge of a transfer. I then had two or three meetings with Uli Hoeness and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and these were great. I will never forget those."