Marseille's Franck Ribéry will make a decision on his future in the next 72 hours and Manchester United hope they will be his destination rather than Arsenal, who have made a belated approach.
The France winger's searing pace has made him one of the most coveted properties in world football in the past six months and he is valued at £25m by Marseille, who say they have no intention of selling him and last week rejected a £9m bid from United.
Arsenal have now entered the bidding in the hope that Ribéry's experiences alongside Thierry Henry during France's World Cup preparations will be to their benefit. Tottenham and Liverpool are also monitoring the situation but it is Lyon who believe they have the greatest chance of becoming his seventh club since January 2002. "Ribéry told me a few days ago, as did his agent, that he intended to leave Marseille and come to Lyon since his favourite manager [Jean Fernandez] had gone to Auxerre," said Lyon's chairman Jean-Michel Aulas. "The ball is in Marseille's court. There is a 50% chance that he [will become] a Lyon player."
Having endured a difficult period on loan at Galatasaray between January and June last year the ambitious Ribéry - who will find out in tomorrow's friendly against China if he is likely to start in Tuesday's World Cup opener against Switzerland - is believed to favour another year in France. Lyon can offer Champions League competition, which Marseille cannot, plus a very real chance of picking up domestic trophies - they have won every league title since 2002.
Ribéry's transfer limbo is affecting Marseille's attempts to replace the departed Fernandez. The club's chairman Pape Diouf held talks over lunch in a Paris hotel with the former Chelsea and Valencia manager Claudio Ranieri on Sunday but the Italian wants to know what his budget and personnel would be next season. "We're speaking but nothing is sure at the moment," Ranieri said yesterday. "We have had a good meeting and will decide in the next week. We are discussing everything [about] the team and the agreement we can have. It is for this reason we are waiting to see because I want to find out what happens with Ribéry. If I go to Marseille I want Ribéry to stay, of course."
