BBC SPORT | Football | Europe (original) (raw)

Arjen Robben

Robben could make his Bayern debut as early as Saturday

Bayern Munich have completed the signing of former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben from Real Madrid for a reported £22m.

Robben will have a medical on Friday and Bayern chief Uli Hoeness hopes the Dutchman will be able to play against champions VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.

The 25-year-old had been linked with a move away from the Bernabeu since the arrivals of Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

Hoeness said: "He will make our team even more attractive."

Robben said: "I feel very welcome here. This is a big club with a great history and I am delighted to be here now.

"Everything went so quickly. There were a few things that I had to consider and in the end I decided that I would like to transfer to a big club like FC Bayern."

Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal compared Robben's creative style to that of Franck Ribery, the French winger who Van Gaal wants to move into central midfield.

"Ribery has this quality, but Robben does, too," said Van Gaal. "And we need that, I think."

Robben earned a reputation at both Chelsea and Real as an exciting playmaker but one who was easily injured, and he only played 50 matches in two seasons in Spain. He has 43 caps for the Netherlands.

Hoeness, Bayern's general manager, added: "He's one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe. He's always been one of the players we wanted.

"Our intention is to have Robben play on the right and Franck Ribery on the left. If it all goes perfectly and without any hitches, it would be theoretically possible for him to play on Saturday."

Van Gaal is off to a rocky start as Bayern Munich's new coach. The team remains winless in its first three league games, with just two points from a possible nine.