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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.

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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
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
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2Bayern MunichBayern26193478314760
3Stuttgart26182660312956
4Borussia DortmundDortmund26148453322150
5RB Leipzig26154760322849
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt26101064235740
7Augsburg269894342135
8Hoffenheim2696114450-633
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10Werder Bremen2686123541-630
11Heidenheim2678113544-929
12Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26610104650-428
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2684142542-1728
14Wolfsburg2667133144-1325
15VfL BochumVfL Bochum26510113054-2425
16Mainz 05Mainz26310132246-2419
17FC Koln2639142047-2718
18SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt2627172665-3913


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