Franck Ribéry

Lore & Background

Ribéry began his football career at age six playing in the youth section of amateur club FC Conti de Boulogne-sur-Mer. After a seven-year stay, in 1996, he joined professional outfit Lille. While at Lille, Ribéry excelled athletically, but developed academic and behavioural problems, which led to Lille releasing him. After leaving Lille, Ribéry returned to his hometown joining US Boulogne.

After spending a year in the reserves, he was promoted to the senior team. Ribéry only made four appearances in his debut season as Boulogne earned promotion to third-tier Championnat National. In his second season with the club, Ribéry appeared in 25 league matches converting five goals. Ribéry's solid performances earned him a move to fellow National club Olympique Alès.

In his only season at the club, Ribéry made 18 appearances scoring only one goal. Ribéry left the club in March due to problems with salary payments. In June 2003 he signed with Stade Brest, another Championnat National club. At Brest, Ribéry established himself as a premier player in the league appearing in 35 league matches scoring three goals.

Ribéry's performance led to the club finishing second in the league, thus earning promotion to Ligue 2. Despite his success with Brest, Ribéry sought to play in Ligue 1. His dream came to fruition when Metz's manager Jean Fernandez recruited him on a free transfer. Ribéry only spent half a season at Metz, but impressed earning the UNFP Player of the Month in August 2004.

He scored his only league goal for Metz on 6 November in the team's 1–1 draw with Toulouse. After negotiations on an extension ended in a stalemate, Ribéry relocated to Turkey. There he joined Galatasaray, signing a three-and-a-half-year contract on 1 February 2005. At Galatasaray, Ribéry appeared in 14 league matches as the club finished in third-place position.

In the Turkish Cup, Ribéry was instrumental in the club's 5–1 thrashing of rivals Fenerbahçe in the competition's ultimate match. He scored the opening goal in the 16th minute and also assisted on another goal. The trophy was Ribéry's first major honour. On 15 June 2005, Ribéry announced that he would be returning to France joining Ligue 1 club Marseille on a five-year contract, plus reuniting with former manager Jean Fernandez. In July 2005, FIFA ruled in favour of Ribéry and dismissed Galatasaray's claims.

Reader's Guide

Ribéry's career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club FC Conti Boulogne. He left the club after seven years to join professional outfit Lille, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. After leaving Lille, Ribéry joined US Boulogne, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two clubs (Alès and Brest), Ribéry earned a move to Ligue 1 club Metz in 2004.

After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 to join Galatasaray, where he won the Turkish Cup. After six months at Galatasaray, he departed the club in controversial fashion in order to return to France to join Marseille. Ribéry spent two seasons at the club, helping OM reach the final of the Coupe de France in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, Ribéry joined German club Bayern Munich for a then club-record fee of €25 million.

With Bayern, he won nine Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokal, one UEFA Champions League and one FIFA Club World Cup, which include five doubles and one treble, amounting to a then club record of 24 titles over twelve seasons. He left Bayern in summer 2019, and subsequently joined Italian side Fiorentina. After two years in Florence, Ribery joined Salernitana, the final club of his career, before retiring in 2022.

Did You Know?

• Ribéry was nicknamed 'Ferraribery' by Galatasaray supporters due to his quick acceleration with the ball.
• He suffered serious facial injuries in a car accident at age two, resulting in more than one hundred stitches and two long scars down the right side of his face.
• Ribéry worked as a construction worker with his father prior to joining Stade Brestois in 2003.
• His partnership with Arjen Robben at Bayern Munich was affectionately known as 'Robbery'.