Franck Ribéry will no longer panic the defenses with his angry outbursts. At 39, “Ch’ti Franck” abandons the grounds, he announced Friday, October 21, exhausted by his bruised knees. Behind him, the native of Boulogne-sur-Mer leaves a career as long as his record, including a Champions League (2013) and a World Cup final (2006). But also some less glorious episodes, like the Zahia affair or the 2010 World Cup.
July 2005: an unknown at OM
But who is this mysterious winger recruited by OM in Galatasaray? In the summer of 2005, almost no one knew Franck Ribéry. Trained in Boulogne-sur-Mer, passed by Brest and Alès in National, then FC Metz in Ligue 1, the striker went to try his luck in Turkey during the last winter transfer window. After contractual problems, he arrived free in the summer of 2005 at OM, trained by Jean Fernandez, his former coach in Metz. Unknown on his arrival, Ribéry quickly made a name for himself.
After a first goal against Troyes on September 18, he acclimatized as he overflowed on the lawn: at full speed. Chouchou of the Vélodrome, he finished three times player of the month, scored the goal of the year, and was awarded the title of best hope of the championship. For his first season, he scored thirteen goals and provided six assists, actively contributing to OM’s qualification for the UEFA Cup.
June 27, 2006: Spain-France, hatching
The fairy tale continues at the end of the season: Raymond Domenech, coach of the France team, summons Franck Ribéry for the 2006 World Cup. Still never selected at the time, the Marseillais quickly imposes himself as a indisputable holder in the right lane. His technical relationship with Zinédine Zidane thrills the press, who see him as their designated successor. On June 27, 2006, he scored his first goal for Les Bleus in the round of 16 of the World Cup, against Spain. His communicative joy remains as one of the strong images of the epic of the Blues during this World Cup.
Summer 2007: from OM to Bayern
A year after his real false start in Lyon, and when he has just qualified OM for the Champions League, Franck Ribéry is offered an exit voucher by President Pape Diouf. OL then courted the French again, but OM refused to reinforce a direct competitor. Real Madrid is considering the case, but Bayern Munich is the highest bidder with 30 million euros. Yet not qualified for the next Champions League, the Bavarian giant – then in reconstruction – convinces Franck Ribéry. Both parties will not regret it: at Bayern, the Frenchman quickly won and became an international star by piling up goals and trophies.
2010: the dark year
At the top for several years, Franck Ribéry fell from his pedestal in 2010, his annus horribilis. In April, he was heard as a witness in the Zahia case, a case of aggravated pimping, where he was accused of having had paid sex with the young woman, a minor at the time. Public opinion is unleashed, even if Franck Ribéry will finally be released in 2014. Elected the most hated sportsman in France in 2010 and 2011, he also owes it to the fiasco of the Blues at the 2010 World Cup.
Considered one of the leaders of the strike of the players of the France team in the middle of the South African World Cup, Ribéry pays in particular for his catastrophic intervention, in flip-flops, on the set of Telefoot. His supposed animosity towards Yoann Gourcuff makes him the found leader of “scum” mentioned then by the Minister of Sports, Roselyne Bachelot. He will return to the Blues in March 2011, under the orders of Laurent Blanc.
May 25, 2013: the European coronation
After two defeats in the Champions League final (2010 against Inter, 2012 against Chelsea), the third is good for Franck Ribéry. Returning to his best level for two years, the French shines in Bayern Jupp Heynckes, on the left flank. He then forms with the Dutchman Arjen Robben the duo “Robbery”, which panics the European defenses. However, it was against a German club, Borussia Dortmund, that the Bavarians won the 2013 Champions League at Wembley.
A decisive element of this overpowering Bayern, Franck Ribéry was then named best European player by UEFA. His start to the season under Pep Guardiola confirms his status as a serious contender for the Ballon d’Or, a few months before the World Cup in Brazil. He will however finish third, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
June 6, 2014: Deschamps loses his boss
Top scorer and best passer for the Blues since 2012, Franck Ribéry is the big man at the start of Didier Deschamps’ term. The months preceding the World Cup, he scored four goals and provided five assists. He is also one of the artisans of the miracle in the play-offs against Ukraine (3-0), involved in the two goals of Mamadou Sakho. But as the World Cup approached, prolonged low back pain forced him to withdraw. Not supported enough for his taste, he announced his international retirement the following August.
August 21, 2019: the Italian dolce vita
After five more successful years at Bayern, but with playing time diminishing due to his injuries, Franck Ribéry leaves Bavaria through the front door in the summer of 2019. In search of a new adventure, after twelve years in Germany, he flew to Florence and Fiorentina. He played 51 games there in two years, for 5 goals.
In 2019, he surprised his world by offering himself a last freelance on the side of Salernitana, modestly promoted to Serie A. Captain, he played 23 games and contributed to the miraculous maintenance of his people, before announcing his retirement in the fall 2022. His last game will be a trip to Rome on August 14, 2022.