Marseille president Pape Diouf insists star playmaker Franck Ribery will not leave the club - even if they get a "gigantic" offer at the end of the season.

The 22-year-old Ribery has established himself as the team's great new hope since joining from Galatasaray in the summer, and Diouf is determined to keep him, at any price.

The Mediterranean giants are keen not to suffer a similar situation to that of Didier Drogba.

Marseille sold the Ivory Coast international to Chelsea for 33 million euros last year and have struggled to recover from the striker's departure.

"We have agreed with the player (Ribery) and his agent that he needs to progress," said Diouf in L'Equipe on Tuesday.

"Drogba was 26 when he left. Ribery is 22 and he needs consistency at the highest level and to reach a certain level of confidence before leaving.

"A player like (Jean-Pierre) Papin played for five seasons with us before leaving OM.

"Even if we receive a gigantic offer, Franck Ribery is not transferable.

"He is one of the future key players at Marseille."

Diouf admits he regrets selling Drogba and would not do it again if he could go back in time.

"His departure spoilt our following season and had a bad influence on the team and on the players who arrived at the club," he said.

"This departure had consequences we did not plan."

Drogba helped the French club reach the UEFA Cup final in June 2004, where they were beaten by Valencia.

Marseille then experienced a difficult 2004-05 campaign before finishing fifth in the table in May.