France star Ribery was poised to move to Stamford Bridge in
January - but Russian billionaire Abramovich has been forced to
scrap the £40million signing.
Chelsea's plans have been thrown into chaos by FIFA's ban, which
prevents the Blues from doing any deals during the next two
transfer windows.
And that means Ribery now seems certain to leave Bayern Munich
for Real Madrid instead.
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti believed a deal was as good as done
for the French winger.
He was hoping to take him to Stamford Bridge in the next
transfer window - but certainly in time for the start of next
season.
Ribery was the Italian's first-choice target all summer and was
understood to be ready to force through a move to
Chelsea.
Bayern's late capture of Real Madrid's Arjen Robben paved the
way for the 26- year-old to move to London.
But FIFA's block on deals into the Bridge has wreaked havoc with
those intentions, and will open the door for Madrid to step in with
a fresh move of their own.
Ribery will also be exploring alternative options - almost
certainly Real Madrid - as he'll fear being left in limbo if
Chelsea can't successfully challenge FIFA's ruling.
