Bayern Munich great Franck Ribéry retires
Franck Ribéry has called time on a 22-year playing career, and will be best remembered for a trophy-laden spell with Bayern Munich.
Former France and Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribéry has announced his retirement from football. Ribéry’s deal with Salernitana would have taken his stay at the Serie A side up to the end of this season, but he has decided to hang his boots up now.
Ribéry’s successes with Bayern
The 39-year-old also played for a number of other clubs in a 22-year career, including Metz, Galatasaray, Olympique Marseille and Fiorentina. He spent the bulk of his career at Bayern, though, where he won nine Bundesliga titles in 12 years. He also won six DFB-Pokal titles, one Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and a FIFA Club World Cup. In his time at the Bavarian giants, Ribéry made 273 Bundesliga appearances, in which he registered 86 goals and 92 assists.
Today, he posted a goodbye message in English, German, French and Italian on Twitter: “The ball stops. The feelings inside me do not. Thanks to everyone for this great adventure.”
Ribéry forged a spectacular wing partnership with Arjen Robben, with the duo terrorising defences from either flank during their decade together in Munich, before both left the club in 2019.
International career
Ribéry won 81 caps for France in all, scoring 16 times before retiring from international football in 2014, and was a member of Les Bleus’ squad when they finished as runners-up to Italy at the 2006 World Cup.
He moved to Fiorentina after leaving Germany, scoring five and assisting nine goals in 51 appearances before signing for Salernitana in 2021. Overall he managed just three assists in 25 games for the club, and featured only twice this season, both times in August, in the Coppa Italia against Parma and as a substitute in the 1-0 Serie A defeat at home to Roma. Ribéry will remain at Salernitana in a non-playing capacity, the club said.