Ribery criticises club’s lack of spending

Franck Ribery yesterday criticised Bayern Munich’s lack of spending over the winter break and said the German league leaders missed a chance to strengthen their squad.

Bayern are at Hamburg tomorrow night in the Bundesliga and need a win as rivals Borussia Dortmund and Schalke are level with them on 40 points, with the Bavarians top by virtue of goal difference.

Ribery is expected to play in Hamburg despite suffering with back pains at the start of the week and says Bayern should have strengthened their squad during January’s transfer window.

Coach Jupp Heynckes and chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge have said the league leaders enjoy enough strength in their squad already, but Ribery disagrees.

“I think it’s a big problem for us if two or three players are injured,” Ribery told Kicker.

“(Bayern) have no real good bench and don’t have a really good second team. But I’m not the president, nor the manager, just a player.”

With sub-zero temperatures expected in Hamburg, Ribery says he is ready to play tomorrow, but was struggling with the arctic temperatures at training in Munich.

“I still have pain, but I feel much better. I can play on Saturday,” he said. “It is brutal, even the warm-up is difficult in this cold. Minus 11 degrees, it’s too much.”