Ribery: De Bruyne wouldn't suit Bayern Munich

The French attacker believes the Wolfsburg star is an excellent player but feels his counterattacking style would be at odds with Pep Guardiola's system

Franck Ribery does not believe Kevin de Bruyne would be a good signing for Bayern Munich, saying he does not fit their style of play.

The Belgium international has been outstanding for Wolfsburg this season, who sit second in the Bundesliga.

He tops the league's assist charts with 16 - seven more than joint-second Zlatko Junuzovic and Thomas Muller - while he has also scored nine goals, two of which came in the 4-1 thrashing of the champions.

His impeccable form has seen linked with a number of Europe's top clubs but Ribery thinks he would be at odds with Pep Guardiola's system.

"He's a great player. But when I watch him, I realise that he is different from Arjen Robben and I," he told Sport Bild.  "He is not a player who takes the ball and dribbles forward and likes to have the opponents in front of him. 

"De Bruyne is great, when he fits the counterattack. At Bayern, however, you usually only have three or four metres in front of you, not a lot of room. But he is a good player and he is still young, so he can still learn."

Ribery also talked about a bust-up with team mate Arjen Robben in which he punched the Netherlands international during a Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid.

"Just before half-time, we had a free kick near the goal," he said. "It was a right-footed one and we had to shoot. 

"Jupp Heynckes had divided us up: for right-footed free kicks, Toni Kroos and I were to take it; for a left-footed one, it was Arjen. So it was really a decision between Toni and I. 

"Arjen, though, was mixed up and said: 'Toni needs to shoot.' I was very upset and right after it, we went in for the half-time break. 

"I was hot, he was hot. Then it happened."

Ribery, though, insists the two are friends now.

"I am very pleased with our relationship now. It's a pity that we were not such good friends in the beginning as we are now. We had some discussions. 

"But today we are good buddies, we have fun together. He knows how important we both are at Bayern. I've always said that it does not matter who scores more goals or who has more assists between us. 

"I'm certainly not jealous of Arjen's goals, it's all about the group, Bayern. Also, Arjen gets me every goal."