Franck Ribery - His way to a footballing legend and one of the best wingers ever.

A THREAD
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General Informations:
Franck Henry Pierre Ribery
Age: 37 years old (7.April 1983)
Nationality:
Positions: LM/LW
Foot: Right
Current club: AC Fiorentina

Franck Ribery had a tough start on his way to a professional footballer. When he was two, Ribery was driving with his father when they collided with another car. Due to the force of the impact, the Frenchman was thrown through the windshield and suffered severe cuts on his face.

Ribery himself knows how to get on with it:

"I'm proud of my scar. It gave me strength and shaped my character. You have to be mentally strong to let the annoyance of the other children ricochet off you, as well as the staring glances of the adults."

He grew up in an area with high unemployment and mostly immigrants. Ribery mostly played football with his peers who were there. He came to Lille as a teenager, but was later kicked out of the youth academy because his academic performance was insufficient.

In addition to that the youth coordinator of Lille Jean-Michel Vandamme explained that the separation from Ribery had disciplinary reasons.

After he left Lille he joined the youth of his hometown club US Boulogne aged 17. In 2001 he had his first professional game in the domestic cup against FC Sochaux, where his team lost 1:5.

In 2002 Ribery joined Ligue 2 side Olympique Ales on a free deal before joining fellow Ligue 2 side Stade Brest the year after. In three domestic cup games he got 1 assist and 1 goal.

(Sadly I've only found his cup game statistics during his time in Brest)

In 2004 his career started to became roller coaster. After impressing everyone in his debut season at Stade Brest, he joined Ligue 1 side FC Metz where his footballing career succefully started. In 20 Ligue 1 games at Metz he has scored 2 goals and managed to get 3 assists.

In August he won the Player of the Month award - with two assists and a starring performance at the Stade Velodrome against Marseille - meaning Ribery's stock was rapidly rising.

His performances aroused interest around the world so he left Metz after 6 months and joined the turkish giants Galatasaray in January 2005. The terms of the deal, an initial six-month loan with the option to buy for €3M, were to prove particularly key.

After having a good start to life in Turkey, he became one of the fans favorite. After signing permanentely in March, Ribery decided to terminate his contract in June owing to a four-month backlog of unpaid wages. With 1 goal and 6 assists he awakened interest from Marseille.

With a market value of €5M he joined Marseille on a free in 2005. His time in Marseille was a great success. Ribery had ascended to even greater heights, leading Marseille to two French Cup finals and been voted Ligue 1 Young Player of the Season.

During his time at Marseille, his performances led to his international debut for his country. French manager Raymond Demenech nominated him for the friendly against Mexico on the 27th May 2006. Shortly after that he has been called up to the squad for the world cup in Germany.

In the summer of 2007 he completed a €25M transfer to Bayern Munich. The 24 year-old broke the record as the most expensive Bundesliga signing in history. Uli Hoeneß was a big fan of Ribery. The start of something special...

His debut for the German giants was in a 3:0 win against Hansa Rostock on the 11th august in 2007. One week later he already showed his class in a 4:0 win against Werder Bremen where he scored once and impressed everyone with his quality.

Ribery vs Bremen:

His debut season in Munich was outstanding. With 11 goals and 8 assists he was an integral part of winning Bayern the bundesliga title. He also helped them to win the DFB-Pokal against Borussia Dortmund. With 19 goals and 20 assists he already showed his worth to his new club.

After having another quality season with 14 goals and 20 assists in 2008, Bayern Munich signed his partner in crime Arjen Robben from Real Madrid in 2009. They both were supposed to be Bayern's new winger duo for the future...and they were.

The season in 2009 was a prime example of what Ribery can do with Robben. Although he missed a lot of games due to injuries, he was a main reason for the champions league final entry against Inter, with a goal against United and the assist for one of the most iconic CL goals:

After 3 seasons at Bayern he had an 39M offer from Madrid. Although he felt flattered by this offer, he decided to renew his contract which kept him in the club until 2015. The connection between him & the fans showed when he told them about the extension during the Meisterfeier.

This was the start of his best time in Munich. The period between 2011-2014 was his prime as a bayern player leading them into the FINALE DAHOAM which they lost in dramatic fashion. With 17 goals and 27 assists he was Bayern's best player.

After the heartbreak in 2012, Ribery had his most successful season in a bayern shirt. With the treble win and the assist for the CL winning goal against Borussia Dortmund, Ribery has written himself into the history books of Bayern Munich.

As a result of his amazing performances Ribery has won the UEFA Best Player award in 2013 despite the competition of Messi and Ronaldo. He officially can count himself as one of the best players in the world. Although he got robbed of the Ballon D'or, this season remains his best

After the treble win, Ribery scored an important goal in the European Supercup against Chelsea, which Bayern won on penalties in the end. The next title in his trophy cabinet.

One of the most important parts of recent success was the left side of Alaba & Ribery. Since 2012 they've developed a real connection on and off the pitch. Ribery was like a big brother for Alaba which helped the Austrian a lot. They were one of the most dangerous left sides itw.

In 2014 he retired from the national team after 81 games and 16 goals.

"I want to concentrate entirely on my tasks at Bayern and also leave the place to the many great young players in the national team."

The season in 2014 was very unlucky for him. Due to many injuries like ankle problems he couldn't help the team on a regular basis and only managed to play 23 games all season. Bayern still won the title which was his 5th Bundesliga title as a bayern player.

The following seasons his injuries started to become regular which hugely influenced his performances. With only 22 appearances in 2016 he lost his spot to Kingsley Coman at times. His time in Munich slowly coming to an end.
But he was still able to provide magical moments:

After winning more titles with Bayern in the following years, Bayern Munich decided not to renew the contract with him in 2018. After 12 years at the club the chapter Ribery comes to an end by the end of the 18/19 season.

In line with his successful bayern career, he won the double again in 2019 and even scored in typical Ribery style against Frankfurt in his last Bundesliga game. An emotional moment that brought Ribery's career to a perfect end in Munich.

His statistics after 12 years at Bayern speak for themselves:
Games: 425
Goals: 124
Assists: 182
1x CL
9x Bundesliga
6x DFB Pokal
1x Club WC
1x European Supercup
1x European player of the year
Player with the most Bundesliga titles in Bayern history (9)

After many rumors of him retiring, Franck Ribery decided to make another step in his career and joined the Italian side Fiorentina. Within a season he already became a fan favorite and won the player of the season award. He's still showing his qualities with 36.

Ribery is not only a special footballer, but also a very emotional person who always has his heart in the right place. He showed his love for FC Bayern and the fans at every moment and this special relationship continues to this day.

He shaped an era in the Bundesliga and at Bayern and, in Uli Hoeneß, had a father figure by his side for the entire time in Munich.

Uli Hoeneß: "Ribery is the living proof that gratitude still means something in our society"

A great person, an amazing footballer and one of the best players in Bayern's history. Thank you for everything Franck Ribery.

END OF THREAD