Former Bayern Munich legend and French international Franck Ribery has recently announced his retirement at the age of 39.
Ribery did not feature for his current club Salernitana since their first match of the season against Roma. There were many rumours suggesting that the forward will retire soon. And now Ribery has finally put an end to his brilliant playing career.
The former UEFA Champions League winner Franck Ribery wrote on social media, “The ball stops. The feelings inside me do not.”
He further added, “Thanks to everyone for this great adventure.”
A look at career of Franck Ribery
Franck Ribery started his footballing career at the academy of his local club Conti Boulogne. He stayed seven years with his local club before joining the academy of French Giants Lille.
Ribery trained for three years in Lille’s academy and joined US Boulogne. Here he finished his football education and was promoted to the main team. Ribery then played two seasons for Bolougne and left the club.
In the next two seasons, he played for two more clubs in the amateur divisions, named Ales and Brest before finally signing for Ligue 1 outfit Metz in 2004. However, just after six months, Ribery left the club and joined the Turkish outfit Galatasaray.
Then once again within six months he left the Turkish club and returned back to France to play for Marseille. Finally in Marseille, Ribery started to showcase his actual potential. He took Marseille to the final of Coupe de France in back-to-back seasons.
Franck Ribery’s consistency then earned him a contract from German giants Bayern Munich. The French forward signed for Bayern Munich for a then-club-record transfer fee of €25 million.
In Bayern, Ribery became one of the best players of his generation. His partnership with Dutch winger Arjen Robben gave Bayern fans many memorable nights. Together they were called Robbery.
During his 12 years stay at Bayern Ribery won nine Bundesliga titles, six DFB Pokal titles, 1 DFB Ligapokal, 4 DFL Supercup, 1 UEFA Champions League, 1 UEFA Super Cup, and 1 FIFA Club World Cup title.
Franck Ribery was one of the most loved players by the Bayern Munich fanbase. The forwarded finally decided to leave the club in 2019 which came as a shock to Bavarian fans. He then joined Fiorentina where he played for two seasons before joining Salernitana at the start of last season.
Franck Ribery represented France in 81 matches. He scored 16 goals in the colours of his national team and was part of the squad that finished second in the 2006 World Cup. Ribery retired from the France team in 2014.
A New Role?
After his retirement, Franck Ribery will stay at the Italian club Salernitana as a part of the club’s staff.
