MX23RW : Thursday, March 13 00:34:55| >> :120:4523:4523:

Matthias Sammer: 'Douglas Costa is not a replacement for Franck Ribery'

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer insists that new signing Douglas Costa is not a replacement for Franck Ribery.

Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer has claimed that Douglas Costa was not signed to replace Franck Ribery.

The Bundesliga champions confirmed the arrival of Costa from Shakhtar Donetsk on a five-year deal on Wednesday, but Sammer has dismissed suggestions that Bayern entered the market due to Franck Ribery's battle with injuries throughout last season.

"In reference to Franck Ribery, who is injured now for a long time, I think it is very disrespectful," he told reporters. "He is injured, cannot train with the team but is still a player of Bayern Munich.

"We will wait for him, he has our full support and we hope that he will come back healthy as soon as possible. Douglas Costa is not his replacement."

Costa is believed to have cost Bayern close to £21m.

ID:231433: cacheID:231433:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1463:
Written by
Callum Mulvihill
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leverkusen's Polish defender Sebastian Boenisch and Shakhtar Donetsk's Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa vie for the ball during the UEFA Champions League group A match on October 23, 2013
Read Next:
Costa "proud" to join Bayern
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern25194274235161
2Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen25158255302553
3Mainz 05Mainz25135742261644
4Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt25126751391242
5Freiburg2512583436-241
6RB Leipzig2510963933639
7Wolfsburg25108749391038
8Stuttgart2510784439537
9Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach25114103938137
10Borussia DortmundDortmund25105104539635
11Augsburg259882835-735
12Werder Bremen2596103849-1133
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2576122337-1427
14Hoffenheim2568113247-1526
15St Pauli2564151930-1122
16VfL BochumVfL Bochum2546152550-2518
17Holstein Kiel2545163761-2417
18Heidenheim2544172851-2316


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!