AFP, Berlin :
Veteran wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery are effectively playing for new contracts after Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge admitted the club are in no rush to extend their deals.
Robben and Ribery, both 34, are out of contract at the end of the season and a primary round of extension negotiations has already begun.
They are part of a group of four players, alongside goalkeeper Sven Ulreich and defender Rafinha, whose contracts expire in June.
“We need some time, then we will make decisions,” Rummenigge told Sky.
“What is required of us is to create a gentle transition.
“We have already made a first (round of talks), when the second will follow, we will see.”
According to daily newspaper Bild, a decision will be made by the end of March at the earliest, leaving the quartet with just a few months to convince the German champions — currently 18 points clear in the Bundesliga — of their continued worth.
Between them Robben and Ribery — part of the team that won the 2013 treble of Champions League, German Cup and Bundesliga — have made nearly 650 appearances for Bayern and scored exactly 250 goals.
