Franck Ribéry began his football career at the age of six playing in the youth section of the FC Conti amateur club in Boulogne-sur-Mer. After a stay of seven years, in 1996, he joined Lille professional training, which plays in the second division.

At Lille, Ribéry excelled athletically but developed academic and behavioral problems, which led Lille to release him. In 2012, during a press conference before Bayern Munich’s Champions League game against his former club Lille,

Ribery explained that he was released from Lille’s academy after suffering a broken elbow and that Lille officials had previously wanted to kick him out of the academy for being ‘too short’.

After leaving Lille, Ribéry returned to his hometown to join the city’s biggest club, US Boulogne. After spending a year in the reserves, he was promoted to the senior team. Ribéry made just four appearances in his first season as Boulogne, who played in the CFA, the fourth division of French football, were promoted to third in the National Championship.

In his second season with the club, Ribéry made 25 league appearances converting five goals. Although Boulogne finished 17th, which meant a return to the fourth division, Ribéry’s strong performances earned him a move to national club Olympique Alès

In his only season at the club, Ribéry made 18 appearances with just one goal. At the end of the season, despite his safety, Alès was relegated to the Division d’Honneur, the sixth division of French football, by the DNCG after the club went bankrupt.

The resulting news led Ribéry to sign with Stade Brest, another National Championship club. At Brest, Ribéry established himself as a top league player in 35 league appearances scoring three goals. Ribéry’s performance and the squad as a whole saw the club finish second in the league, earning them promotion to Ligue 2.

Despite his success at Brest, Ribéry sought to play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. His dream came true when Metz manager Jean Fernandez liked him and signed him on a free transfer.

He only spent half a season at Metz but impressed by winning the UNFP Player of the Month award in August 2004. He scored his only league goal for Metz on 6 November in the Draw 1 -1 of the team against Toulouse. His stellar play on the right side of midfield has led Metz fans to compare him to Robert Pires, a former Metz player.

After negotiations over an extension broke down, in January 2005 Ribéry moved to Turkey. There he joined Galatasaray on an initial loan deal; the Istanbul-based company was entitled to pay Metz €2m to make the move permanent.

GALATASARAY

Ribéry was drafted from Galatasaray by manager Gheorghe Hagi and appeared in 14 league appearances as the club finished in third place. While playing for the club, Galatasaray supporters nicknamed him ‘Ferraribery’, referring to his rapid acceleration with the ball at his feet and also ‘Scarface’ due to a large scar located on his right side. of his face. In the Turkish Cu

Ribéry was instrumental in the club’s 5-1 thrashing of Fenerbahçe in the final game of the competition. He scored the opening goal in the 16th minute and also assisted on another goal. Ribéry was then substituted in the 52nd minute with Galatasaray leading 3-1. The trophy was Ribéry’s first major honour.

MOVE TO MARSEILLE AND CAS DECISION

On 15 June 2005, Ribéry announced that he would return to France to join Ligue 1 club Marseille on a five-year contract, in addition to reuniting with former manager Jean Fernandez. The move was seen as a surprise for Galatasaray, as Ribéry had three years left on his contract after the club paid Metz €2m to make the loan transfer permanent on March 30.

He argued that he had not been paid his salary by the club and asked FIFA, the sport’s governing body, to cancel his contract. He also confirmed that at some point during the season he was threatened with a baseball bat by his former agent and a Galatasaray manager.

A day after announcing his move, Galatasaray officials and coach Eric Gerets slammed the player for betraying the club and also announced their intention to ask FIFA to investigate the situation. In July 2005, FIFA ruled in favor of Ribéry and dismissed Galatasaray’s claims that the player was at fault. In response, the Turkish club announced their decision to challenge FIFA’s decision by appealing to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport.

On April 25, 2007, their appeal was dismissed by the court, which said in a statement that Ribéry had terminated his contract with the Turkish club at the end of the 2004-05 season for just cause and that Galatasaray would not was therefore entitled to no compensation. Galatasaray had demanded 10 million euros in compensation from Marseille.

SAISON 2006-07

Following Ribéry’s international success in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a bidding war ensued to secure his services with English club Arsenal initially offering €15 million for the player. However, Arsenal would be overtaken by Spanish club Real Madrid, who have offered 30 million euros for the Frenchman, according to Marseille directors.

Rivals Olympique Lyonnais have also sought the services of Ribéry, with President Pape Diouf accusing Jean-Michel Aulas of patting Ribéry after discovering that the Lyon president had visited the France team and Ribéry himself during the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Diouf then threatened to report Aulas to the Professional Football League (LFP) for his actions. He went so far as to accuse Ribery’s former agent Bruno Heiderscheid of badly advising the player. Marseille went on to declare him banned with almost four years remaining on Ribéry’s contract.

On August 11, 2006, Ribéry confirmed his intention to stay with the club for the 2006–07 season. Ribéry’s now increased popularity led to growing speculation from writers and supporters that Marseille would finally win their first league title since the 1991–92 season.

He started the 2006–07 campaign on a high note, scoring in the club’s second match of the season against Auxerre in a 3–0 victory. On 11 November 2006, Ribéry suffered a serious groin injury in Marseille’s 1–0 loss to Lille. The resulting injury meant that Ribéry was out for several weeks, returning after the winter break.

On his return in January, Ribéry netted twice in another victory against Auxerre. The following month, Ribéry fractured his foot in a game against Toulouse. The injury forced him to miss four league matches, as well as one Coupe de France match.

In April 2007, Ribéry ended the league season by scoring back-to-back weeks against Sochaux in a 4–2 victory and Monaco in another victory. In the Coupe de France, Marseille reached the final again with Ribéry, for the second consecutive season, putting them there by scoring the winning goal in a 3–0 semi-final win over Nantes.

In the final, Marseille were big favorites against Sochaux, a team they had completely dominated just 12 days before. However, Sochaux recorded an upset win by beating Marseille 5–4 on penalties after the game ended 2–2 after extra time.

Ribéry’s last match with Marseille was a 1-0 win over Sedan on the final day of the season. The win secured second place for Marseille and was their best result since ending second place at Bordeaux in the 1998–99 season. After the season, he was named French Player of the Year by French sports publication France Football. This honor ended the four-year reign of Thierry Henry.

BAYERN MUNICH

Saison 2014-15

On 18 October 2014, Ribéry returned after suffering a knee injury as a 61st-minute substitute in a 6–0 home win over Werder Bremen. He scored every goal in both matches against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League group stage, Bayern winning 7-1 in the first game and 2-0 in the second game.

He put in an impressive performance and scored a goal on his first start for the club since April 2014 in a 3-1 win over Hamburger SV in the DFB-Pokal on 30 October. He scored his 100th goal for Bayern and the game’s only goal in a 1–0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on 6 December.

The goal came in his 287th competitive game for Bayern. In January 2015, he suffered another injury which was a muscle injury in training and only missed three games against VfL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart.

On 27 March, Ribéry then suffered an ankle injury in a 7-0 home win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg and was sidelined. for the rest of the season. He has scored nine goals and provided seven assists this season.

Saison 2015–2016

On December 2, 2015, Ribéry trained with the first team for the first time since his injury in March 2015. On December 5, he made his first appearance since his ankle injury as a substitute for Robert Lewandowski and also scored a goal after six. minutes of his appearance, but that didn’t stop Bayern losing 3-1 to Borussia Mönchengladbach.

It was also his 300th competitive appearance for Bayern Munich. He made his 200th Bundesliga appearance in a 1-0 win over 1. FC Köln on 19 March 2016. On 2 April, Ribéry scored an incredible bicycle kick goal for Bayern Munich to beat L ‘Eintracht Frankfurt with a 1-0 victory. He finished the season with two goals and three assists.

Saison 2016-2017

Ribéry extended his contract with Bayern Munich for another year until June 2018 on November 27, 2016. On September 17, Ribéry was involved in all of Bayern’s goals by providing three assists on goals for Robert Lewandowski, Xabi Alonso and Rafinha to beat FC Ingolstadt 04 with a 3–1 win.

Halfway through the season, he suffered a thigh injury which kept him out of action for almost four weeks. He made his comeback in a 3-0 DFB-Pokal quarter-final win over Schalke 04 on 2 March 2017. He has scored five goals and provided seventeen assists this season.

Saison 2017-2018

Ribéry started the 2017–18 season by winning the DFL Supercup as Bayern beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 5–4 on penalties. On October 1, 2017, he suffered a knee injury in a 2-2 draw against Hertha BSC.

On December 2, Ribéry returned to the pitch in a 3-1 win over Hannover 96 and broke Bayern Munich’s record for most Bundesliga appearances by a non-German with 235th appearance, surpassing the former Bayern player and current sporting director Hasan Salihamidžić who had 234 appearances.

He made another record for the most competitive appearances of any non-German player for Bayern with 366 appearances in a 1–0 win over 1. FC Köln, surpassing Hasan Salihamidžić’s 365 appearances.

Ribéry scored twice in a 6-0 home win over Hamburger SV on 10 March 2018. On 7 May 2018, Ribéry again extended his contract with Bayern, until June 2019. He completed the season with six goals and five assists.

Saison 2018-19

Ribéry played his first competitive game of the season and won the DFL Supercup as Bayern beat Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5-0 win. On September 1, Ribéry made his 250th Bundesliga appearance in a 3–0 win over VfB Stuttgart. On 27 November, Ribéry scored his first goal of the season in a 5–1 win over SL

Benfica in the Champions League. On 5 May 2019, Bayern Munich announced that Ribéry would be leaving the club at the end of the season, with a testimonial match scheduled for 2020. On 18 May 2019, Ribéry won his ninth Bundesliga title with Bayern.

With his ninth Bundesliga title, Ribéry became the all-time Bundesliga record champion. On 25 May 2019, Ribéry won his sixth DFB-Pokal as Bayern beat RB Leipzig 3-0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal final.

Ribéry came on in the 87th minute and made history as it was his eighth DFB-Pokal final appearance. No other player has played in so many DFB-Pokal finals. He finished his Bayern career with a club record 24 titles.

CAREER OF FRANCK RIBÉRY INTERNATIONAL

Franck Ribéry was always present with the France under-21 team which won its first cap on September 3, 2004 in a 1-0 victory against Israel in qualifying for the European Under-21 Football Championship. 21 years of UEFA 2006.

He scored his first Under-21 goal five days later in a 1-0 friendly win over Slovakia. On 15 November 2005, he scored an important goal against England in the qualifying playoff as France beat them 3–2 on aggregate to advance to the final.

He missed the competition, however, after being selected to coach Raymond Domenech’s pre-World Cup squad. In total with the Under-21s, Ribéry has played 13 matches with two goals.

Ribéry earned his first cap with the senior team in a 1–0 win over Mexico on 27 May 2006 when he came on as a 74th-minute substitute for striker David Trezeguet. His strong performances in friendlies ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup led to his inclusion in the competition’s squad.

Ribéry has appeared in all seven matches played by France, starting six. On 27 June, he scored France’s first goal in the team’s 3-1 round of 16 win over Spain after receiving a through ball from Patrick Vieira which allowed the winger to dribble past an oncoming Iker Casillas and shoot into the empty net.

He played in the final where France lost to Italy on penalties. Ribéry’s only shot on goal came in extra time and he was later replaced by Trezeguet. After Zinedine Zidane’s retirement, it was expected that Ribery would succeed him and become the national team’s talisman.

He went without a goal for almost a year and a half before converting a penalty against England on March 26, 2008 at the Stade de France. After the goal, Ribéry paid tribute to legendary French commentator Thierry Gilardi, who died a day earlier.

France performed below expectations at Euro 2008, with Ribéry appearing in all three group stage matches as France suffered an early elimination. On 17 June 2008, during the team’s final group stage against Italy, Ribéry ruptured a ligament in his left ankle in just the 8th minute of play.

He returned to the team on 11 October 2008 in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against Romania, scoring the team’s first goal in a 2–2 draw. On 28 March 2009, Ribéry scored Lithuania’s only away goal. Three days later, he completed the feat again, this time at the Stade de France, scoring the winner in the 75th minute after Andre-Pierre Gignac’s serve.

On 11 May 2010, Ribéry was named in Domenech’s preliminary 30-man squad to compete in the 2010 World Cup and his second overall World Cup. He was later named to the 23-man squad to compete in the competition. He appeared in all three group stage matches.

After the team’s opening match against Uruguay, Ribéry was criticized for his performance by former international Just Fontaine, who questioned Ribéry’s leadership ability. Media later reported that Ribéry and striker Nicolas Anelka had deliberately ‘frozen’ midfielder Yoann Gourcuff.

Anelka was subsequently dismissed from the team after having a dispute, in which obscenities were passed, with Domenech during half-time in the team’s 2–0 loss to Mexico. On June 20, an emotional Ribéry appeared alongside Domenech on TF1’s football show Téléfoot to dispel team-related rumors and also apologize to supporters for the national team’s performance over the past few months. two years, declaring: “We [France] are suffering at the moment”, and “I would like to say sorry to the whole country. »

The following day, the team boycotted a training session in response to Anelka’s expulsion, and on June 21 returned to training without incident. In the team’s last game of the group stage against hosts South Africa, Ribéry competed on the team’s only goal of the competition, scored by Florent Malouda.

France, however, lost the match 2–1, which resulted in the team’s elimination from the competition. On 6 August, Ribéry was one of five players summoned to a hearing held by the French Football Federation (FFF) Disciplinary Committee in response to the team’s staged strike during the World Cup.

On August 17, he received a three-match international ban for his involvement in the incident. He did not attend the hearing due to opposition from his parent club. On March 17, 2011, Ribéry was called up to the national team by new manager Laurent Blanc for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.

He had been eligible to return to the team since October 2010 after serving his three-match suspension, but due to injury Ribéry missed three appeals. Arriving in Clairefontaine ahead of the team’s matches against Luxembourg and Croatia on March 21, Ribéry attended a personal press conference where he apologized for his overall behavior during the calendar year. 2010.

He made his return to the team on 25 March in the team’s game against Luxembourg and responded by assisting on the team’s second goal, scored by Yoann Gourcuff, in their 2–0 victory. In his first game at the Stade de France since participating in the World Cup, against Croatia, Ribéry appeared as a substitute and was the subject of mockery from some fans, although other parties of the stadium chanted his name.

After appearing regularly in qualifying for UEFA Euro 2012, on 29 May 2012 Ribéry was named in the squad to take part in the competition. Two days earlier, he scored his first goal for France in more than three years in a 3-2 friendly comeback against Iceland.

On 31 May, Ribéry scored the winning goal in a 2–0 win over Serbia. Four days later, he capped the trio of pre-European Championship friendlies by scoring the opening goal in a 4-0 shutout win over Estonia.

Ribéry was part of France’s squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but on 6 June coach Didier Deschamps confirmed he would miss the tournament through injury. Shortly after, in August 2014, Ribéry retired from international football. He cited the reasons for his retirement as “purely personal.”

Franck Ribéry Style of play and personality

Franck Ribéry mainly plays as a winger and is described as a “fast, cunning and excellent dribbler who has good control with the ball at his feet”.

Despite being predominantly right-footed and used as a right midfielder during his developmental years in France, since establishing himself as an international and at Bayern Munich, Ribéry has personally admitted his preference was to play on the left wing, even going as far as to say, “My place is on the left” when asked during a February 2010 media session while on international duty.

Although often played on the left wing domestically, Ribéry struggled to establish himself as a left winger internationally with France due to the presence of dominant left-footed players like Florent Malouda. He said he was best used on the left side because “that’s where I’m freest and I’m the best in my head.”

Playing on the left also allows Ribery to use his ‘bursts of acceleration and braiding’ to effectively cut inside, giving him the chance to shoot or deliver an assist.

Ribéry is also capable of playing in the center of the field as an attacking midfielder, where his vision and playing skills are best on display. Although he mainly plays on the wing, he recorded a double-digit assist average every year starting from his last season at Marseille.

Ribéry has been described as a provocateur on the pitch, with UEFA calling him a “crowd pleaser, one of those rare breeds of footballer who was able to enjoy his talents while expressing them”. During the 2006 World Cup, he was mentored by national team playmaker Zinedine Zidane.

While touting him as “the jewel of French football”, Zidane also hailed Ribéry as a person, saying: “Franck loves life. He’s the kind of player who makes a good impression every time he plays. He is destined to become an important figure in the world of football. ‘

Ribéry’s personality on the pitch is often matched off the pitch, as he is often referred to as a “joker” and a “joker” by the club and his international teammates. The midfielder said humor is very important, admitting: “It’s important to always smile, wake up and feel good.

We (footballers) have a great job, we love what we do and we have fun. His most notable stunts include driving a tractor on the pitch during one of his last matches with Marseille; in his first season with Bayern, dumping a bucket of water on former club goalkeeper Oliver Kahn from the roof of the club’s training facility; and, during the 2008–09 winter break, commandeering the team bus in Dubai and crashing it.

Ribéry, however, suffered from injuries. Since his first season at Bayern in which he appeared in 46 of the club’s 54 competitive matches, Ribéry has struggled with minor and serious injuries which have led to the player not appearing in more than 40 matches a season. following; the midfielder broke the 40-game mark in the 2011-12 season after failing in the previous three seasons.

Prior to the 2008–09 season, he tore ligaments in one of his ankles while on international duty, and during the 2009–10 season suffered from tendonitis in his left knee. The following season, Ribéry suffered an ankle injury which caused the midfielder to be missing for two months, despite the initial diagnosis which ruled him out for four weeks.

He then suffered a similar ankle injury early in the 2011–12 season. Ribéry, himself, admitted that injuries made most of his five-year Bayern career difficult, saying in July 2011: “The last two years (2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons) have been more difficult. , in part because I kept hurting myself. The important thing for me now is to avoid more injuries.”

FRANCK RIBÉRY COMMERCIAL PROMOTIONS

Franck Ribéry Since his establishment as an international player, Ribéry has been involved in numerous promotional campaigns. He is sponsored by the American sportswear company Nike and regularly wears Nike Mercurial Vapors.

He appeared in several TV commercials for Nike and during the 2007-2008 Bundesliga season starred in a one-off TV show called The Franck Ribéry Show which aired on Direct 8 in France. The show, sponsored by Nike, acted as a variety show with Ribéry appearing in several sketches.

It is part of EA Sports’ FIFA series of video games. For the 2008–09 season, he appeared on the French cover of FIFA 09 alongside international teammate Karim Benzema, and was the ninth highest rated player in FIFA 15.

On 25 May 2010, a 27 by 30 meter (89 ft × 98 ft) scoreboard of Ribéry was officially unveiled in his home town of Boulogne-sur-Mer ahead of the 2010 World Cup. paid tribute to a similar billboard that was erected for Zinedine Zidane in his hometown of Marseille during his career.

Construction of the billboard was initially suspended due to possible image ramifications associated with Ribéry’s alleged relationship with an underage prostitute. However, the regional council of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, which initially opposed the billboard, agreed to allow the billboard to be built.

The billboard was a project of Ribéry’s sponsor Nike and was on display for the duration of the 2010 World Cup. More recently, he was one of many international superstars featured in Nike’s ‘The Last Game’, an advertisement five-minute animated film made during the run-up to the 2014 World Cup that went viral.

He appeared in the music video for “Not Even Tired!!!” by Magic System and Khaled. The single released in 2009 spent seven weeks at number one on the SNEP French Singles Chart.

CONTROVERSIES OF FRANCK RIBÉRY

On April 18, 2010, French television reported that M6 and four members of the French national team were being investigated for their roles as clients of a prostitution ring operated in a Paris nightclub, some of the women may be minors.

The report also said that two of the players had already been questioned as witnesses by Judge André Dando and a group of magistrates. The report describes the two players as one who “is a major player in a major foreign club” and the other “plays in the French Ligue 1 championship”.

Later in the day, the players were discovered to be Ribéry and Sidney Govou. During his interview with Dando, Ribéry allegedly admitted to having had a relationship with a prostitute but he did not know that she was underage when their relationship began.

On 29 April 2010, the country’s secretary of state for sport Rama Yade, after refusing to comment publicly on the case in its early stages, said no player under investigation should represent the France team.

The following day, a judicial source confirmed that Ribéry would not, if at all, be the subject of an official investigation before the start of the 2010 World Cup. On July 20, Ribéry was questioned by the Parisian police and , after interrogation, indicted by Judge Dando for “solicitation of a little prostitute”.

In November 2011, prosecutors called for charges against Ribéry and Benzema to be dropped, saying the players were unaware the escort, identified as Zahia Dehar, was 16 when they paid to have sex with her. .