Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry (; born 7 April 1983) is a French former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who primarily played as a winger, preferably on the left side, and was known for his pace, energy, skill, and precise passing. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport. 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 Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. In 1999, Ribéry joined

US Boulogne Union Sportive de Boulogne-sur-Mer Côte d'Opale (commonly referred to as US Boulogne, USBCO or frequently, simply Boulogne) is a French association football club based in the commune of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The club was founded in 1898 and cur ...

, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two clubs (

Alès Alès () is a Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southern France. Until 1926, i ...

and Brest), Ribéry earned a move to

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

club

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

in 2004. After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 to join

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, where he won the

Turkish Cup The Turkish Cup () is a football cup competition in Turkish football, run by the Turkish Football Federation since 1962. During a brief sponsorship period with Fortis, its sponsored name was ''Fortis Türkiye Kupası''. Now Ziraat Bankası is ...

. After six months at Galatasaray, he departed the club in controversial fashion in order to return to France to join

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. Ribéry spent two seasons at the club, helping OM reach the final of the

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

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 (at the time a Bundesliga record), six

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

, one

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

and one

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

, which include five

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s and one treble, amounting to a then club record of 24 titles over twelve seasons. His form for Bayern in the club's 2012–13 treble winning season saw him nominated alongside

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi (; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Major League Soccer ...

and

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

on the three-man shortlist for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or. During his long spell at Bayern, Ribéry was also known for his fruitful partnership with fellow winger

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger. Known for his Dribbling#Association football, dribbling skills, speed, and long-range s ...

—together they were affectionately referred to by the nickname ''Robbery''. He left Bayern in summer 2019, and subsequently joined Italian side

Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Florence, Tuscany. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while ...

, while Robben retired from football. After two years in Florence, Ribery joined

Salernitana Unione Sportiva Salernitana 1919 is an Italian professional football club based in Salerno, Campania. The original club was founded in 1919 and has been reconstituted three times in the course of its history, most recently in 2011. The current ...

, the final club of his career, before retiring in 2022. Between 2006 and 2014, Ribéry played for the France national team 81 times. He played at two

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s (

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

) and two

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

s (

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

). Individually, Ribéry is a three-time winner of the French Player of the Year award and also won the German award of

Footballer of the Year Footballer of the Year may refer to: Association football World * FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) * FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) * The Best FIFA Men's Player (since 2016) Other * African Footballer of the Year * Asian Footballer o ...

, becoming the first player to hold both honours. He has also been named to the

UEFA Team of the Year The UEFA Fan's Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its official website. This award started in 2001 and allows users of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their ove ...

and declared the Young Player of the Year in France. In 2013, Ribéry won the

UEFA Best Player in Europe Award The UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a men's football club (association football), football club in Europe that is ...

. In 2013, he was also ranked fourth in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

s list of the best players in the world. He is currently in charge as a technical collaborator of Italian

Serie B The Serie B (), officially known as Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had b ...

club

, which was also his final club as a player.

Early life

Ribéry was born on 7 April 1983 in

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, Pas-de-Calais and raised in a low-income neighbourhood on the fringes of the city. When he was two years old, he and his family were involved in a car accident in his hometown, colliding with a lorry; he suffered serious facial injuries that resulted in more than one hundred stitches and which left two long scars down the right side of his face, and another across his brows. Prior to joining Stade Brestois in 2003, he worked as a

construction worker A construction worker is a person employed in the physical construction of the built environment and its infrastructure. Definitions By some definitions, construction workers may be engaged in manual labour as unskilled or semi-skilled workers ...

with his father, which Ribéry referred to as a "learning experience".

Club career

Early career

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

, who were playing in the second division. While at Lille, Ribéry excelled athletically, but developed academic and behavioural problems, which led to Lille releasing him. In 2012, during a press conference ahead of Bayern Munich's Champions League tie against his former club Lille, Ribéry explained that he was released from the Lille academy after suffering a broken elbow and that Lille officials had previously wanted to drop him from the academy for being "too small". After leaving Lille, Ribéry returned to his hometown joining the biggest club in the city,

. 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, who were playing in the CFA, the fourth division of French football, earned promotion to third-tier

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

. In his second season with the club, Ribéry appeared in 25 league matches converting five goals. Although Boulogne finished 17th, which meant a return to the fourth division, 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.Ouest-France, 27 April 2003. In April 2003 he was put on trial by SM Caen during a friendly match against Laval. He also had an unsuccessful trial with Guingamp. Following the season, despite finishing safe, Alès were relegated to the Division d'Honneur, the sixth division of French football, by the DNCG after the club declared bankruptcy. In June Ribery signed with

Stade Brest Stade Brestois 29, commonly known as Stade Brestois or simply Brest,''Stade Brest'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, is not a grammatically correct name for the club. is a French professional football club based in ...

, 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 and the team as a whole led to the club finishing second in the league, thus earning promotion to

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

. Despite his success with Brest, Ribéry sought to play in

, the top division of

French football Association football is the most popular sport in France. In 2024, 53% of people in France declared an interest in football, with 26% being very interested. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the natio ...

. His dream came to fruition when

's manager Jean Fernandez took a liking to him and 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 Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. His stellar play on the right side of midfield led to Metz supporters comparing him to

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

, a former Metz player. 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.

Galatasaray

At Galatasaray, Ribéry was brought in by manager

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of the best players in ...

and appeared in 14 league matches as the club finished in third-place position. While playing for the club, Galatasaray supporters nicknamed him "Ferraribery", in reference to his quick acceleration with the ball at his feet and also "Scarface" due to a large scar located on the right side of his face. In the

, 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. Ribéry was later substituted in the 52nd minute with Galatasaray leading 3–1. The trophy was Ribéry's first major honour.

Move to Marseille and CAS ruling

On 15 June 2005, Ribéry announced that he would be returning to France joining Ligue 1 club

on a five-year contract, plus reuniting with former manager Jean Fernandez. The move was considered surprising to Galatasaray as Ribéry had three years remaining on his contract after the club paid Metz €2 million to make the loan move permanent on 30 March. Ribéry argued that he had not been paid his wages by the club and asked

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

, the sport's

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

, to invalidate his contract. He also confirmed that, at one point during the season, he was threatened with a baseball bat by his former agent and a Galatasaray director. A day after announcing his move, Galatasaray officials and manager

Eric Gerets Eric Maria Gerets (; born 18 May 1954) is a Belgian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player. As a Forward (association football), striker, he started his playing career as an amateur for his local ...

blasted the player for betraying the club and also announced their intent to ask FIFA to probe the situation. In July 2005, FIFA ruled in favour of Ribéry and dismissed Galatasaray's claims of the player being at fault. In response, the Turkish club announced their decision to challenge FIFA's ruling by appealing to the international

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

. On 25 April 2007, their appeal was dismissed by the court, who declared in a statement that Ribéry had terminated his contract with the Turkish club at the end of the 2004–05 season on just grounds, and that Galatasaray was therefore not entitled to any compensation. Galatasaray had sought €10 million in compensation from Marseille.

2005–06 season

Upon his arrival, Ribéry was handed the number 7 shirt and made his debut on 30 July 2005 in a 2–0 defeat to

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

collecting a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

. On 17 September, he scored his first goal for the club in their 2–1 victory over

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

. Two weeks later, Ribéry netted goals in back-to-back matches in victories over his former club Metz and

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one milliongame-winning goal in a 2–1 win over

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

. The goal, scored from almost out, was later voted the goal of the season by supporters. In the

, Ribéry performed well scoring a double against

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and scoring the opening goal in Marseille's 3–1 semi-final victory over

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

. The win pushed Marseille through to the 2006 final, where they faced ''

Le Classique Le Classique (, The Classic) is the rivalry between French professional Association football, football clubs Paris Saint-Germain FC, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Olympique de Marseille (OM). The duo are the two Football records and statistics i ...

'' rivals

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

, which merited Ribéry his second consecutive cup final appearance. Unfortunately, Marseille faltered losing 2–1 to the Parisian club. In

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, Ribéry scored two goals in the

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was dis ...

against Italian club

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

and Spanish outfit

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

. In the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, he scored one goal converting it in the second leg of Marseille's Round of 32 tie with

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

. Ribéry was later named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year.

2006–07 season

Following Ribéry's success internationally at the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

, a bidding war occurred in order to obtain his services with English club

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

initially offering €15 million for the player. However, Arsenal would be trumped by Spanish club

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, who offered €30 million for the Frenchman, according to Marseille directors. Rivals

Olympique Lyonnais Olympique Lyonnais (), commonly referred to as simply Lyon () or OL, is a French professional association football, football club based in Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. With origins dating back to 1899, they were founded in 1950 and p ...

also sought Ribéry's services, with president Pape Diouf accusing

Jean-Michel Aulas Jean-Michel Antoine Aulas (; born 22 March 1949) is a French businessman. He is the founder of Cegid (Compagnie Européenne de Gestion par l'Informatique Décentralisée), and from 1987 to 2023, he served as the president of French football club ...

of tapping-up Ribéry after it was discovered that the Lyon chairman visited the France national team and Ribéry himself during the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Diouf later threatened to report Aulas to the

Ligue de Football Professionnel The (, ''Professional Football League''), commonly known as the LFP, is a French governing body that runs the major professional football leagues in France and Monaco. It was founded in 1944 and serves under the authority of the French Footba ...

(LFP) for his actions. He went as far as to accuse Ribéry's former agent, Bruno Heiderscheid, of badly advising the player. Marseille continued to declare him off-limits with nearly four years remaining on Ribéry's contract. On 11 August 2006, Ribéry confirmed his intention to remain with the club for the 2006–07 season. Ribéry's now heightened popularity saw increased speculation from writers and supporters that Marseille would finally win their first league title since the 1991–92 season. He began the 2006–07 campaign on a high note, scoring in the club's second match of the season against

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

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 Ribéry was out for a number of weeks, returning following the winter break. On his return in January, Ribéry netted two goals in another win over Auxerre. The following month, Ribéry suffered a fractured foot in a match against Toulouse. The injury required him to miss four league matches, as well as a Coupe de France match. In April 2007, Ribéry finished the league season by scoring in back-to-back weeks against

Sochaux Sochaux () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Geography Sochaux lies east of Montbéliard, and southeast of Paris. Population Inhabitants are known as ''Sochaliens''. Economy ...

in a 4–2 win and

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

in another victory. In the Coupe de France, Marseille again reached the final with Ribéry, for the second straight season, putting them there scoring the game-winning goal in a 3–0 semi-final win over Nantes. In the final, Marseille were heavy favourites over Sochaux, a team they had completely dominated just 12 days prior. However, Sochaux recorded an upset victory defeating Marseille 5–4 on penalties after the match ended 2–2 following

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

. Ribéry's final match with Marseille was a 1–0 win over Sedan on the final match day of the season. The victory secured second place for Marseille and was their best finish since finishing runner-up to Bordeaux during the 1998–99 season. Following the season, Ribéry was awarded the French Player of the Year by French sports publication ''

France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...

''. The honour ended the four-year reign of

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

Bayern Munich

2007–08 season

On 7 June 2007, German club

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

announced that they had reached an agreement with Marseille for the transfer of Ribéry, with the player agreeing to a four-year deal and Bayern paying Marseille a then club-record €25 million. Ribéry was given the number 7 shirt, which was freed up due to the retirement of

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

Mehmet Scholl Mehmet Tobias Scholl (born Mehmet Tobias Yüksel; 16 October 1970) is a German Association football, football manager and former player. He played most of his career as an attacking midfielder for FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich. During his care ...

at the end of the previous season. He made his team debut one month later, scoring twice in an 18–0 friendly drubbing of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

youth side FT Gern. Ribéry made his competitive debut for Bayern on 21 July 2007 against

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

in the first round of the

Premiere Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous B ...

, scoring twice and also assisting on another in a 4–1 victory. In the semifinals, he netted an early goal in a 2–0 win over defending champions

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. Due to an injury, Ribéry was unable to play in the final, which Bayern won. Franck Ribery 2008

Ribéry scored his first league goal for the club on 18 August in a 4–0 triumph over Bremen converting a penalty in the 31st minute. He went scoreless in the league for almost two months before scoring a goal and providing the assist on Bayern's other goal in a 2–1 win over

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

. A month later, Ribéry recorded this feat again, providing the assist on the opening goal scored by

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, ; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A Forward (as ...

and scoring the game winning goal in a 2–1 win over

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

. In the

German Cup The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

, he recorded two goals and provided four assists in five matches Bayern contested. He netted his first goal in the competition on 27 February 2008 in Bayern's win over inner-city rivals

1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of the German football pyramid. Their current home gr ...

, with Ribéry converting the lone goal, a penalty, in the final minute of extra time. In the semi-finals, Ribéry scored the opening goal in Bayern's 2–0 win over Wolfsburg, which resulted in the club qualifying for the final against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. In the DFB-Pokal final, Ribéry assisted on Luca Toni's opener in the 11th minute in a match Bayern won 2–1, thus claiming their 14th cup title. In the

, Bayern reached the semi-finals, with Ribéry scoring three goals in the competition, including one in the Germans' comeback win over Spanish club

Getafe Getafe () is a municipalities in Spain, municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city c ...

in the quarter-finals. In total, Ribéry appeared in 46 matches scoring 16 goals and assisting on 17 goals as Bayern won the league and cup double. For his efforts, on 8 June 2008, Ribéry was named the 2007–08 Footballer of the Year (Germany). He was also named French Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

2008–09 season

Due to tearing ligaments in his ankle at

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

, Ribéry began the season with Bayern on 24 September 2008 in a

match against 1. FC Nürnberg, appearing as a substitute in the 65th minute. He made his league debut three days later and, after a month of play, scored his first goal of the season in Bayern's 4–2 comeback win over VfL Wolfsburg. Following the match, Ribéry scored in five-straight league matches, with the club going undefeated in that span. On 10 December, Ribéry capped the 2008 portion of the season by scoring a goal and providing assists on the other two in Bayern's 3–2 victory over Lyon in the Champions League. For his performances throughout 2008, Ribéry finished third behind

and

for the

Onze d'Or The ''Onze d'Or'' (alternative name: ''Onze Mondial'' European Footballer of the Year) is an association football award given by French magazine '' Onze Mondial'' since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a Euro ...

. He was shortlisted by the French magazine ''France Football'' for the 2008 Ballon d'Or award, won by Cristiano Ronaldo. Ribéry's 2009 debut saw Bayern earn a 5–1 German Cup win over VfB Stuttgart, with the player scoring and also providing an assist. On 24 February 2009, he scored a double in the club's 5–0 win over

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash. Bayern were later eliminated 5–1 on aggregate by Spanish champions

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in the next round, with Ribéry scoring a consolation goal in the second leg in a 1–1 draw at the Allianz. In the league, Bayern failed to defend their Bundesliga title, despite suffering defeat only twice in their final 13 matches, losing out to Wolfsburg. Ribéry ended the season with 36 total appearances scoring 14 goals and providing 19 assists.

2009–10 season

Following the 2008–09 season, constant speculation began to surface regarding Ribéry's availability on the transfer market. Despite Bayern president

Uli Hoeneß Ulrich "Uli" Hoeneß (; born 5 January 1952) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a forward. He played for the West Germany at one World Cup and two European Championships, winning one tournament of each ...

, executive

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge (; born 25 September 1955) is a German football executive and former professional player. Considered as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest German footballers ever, he was also the longt ...

and new manager

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former association football, football player and former manager who currently serves as an advisor for AFC Ajax, Ajax. At club level, he served as manager of AFC Ajax, Aj ...

declaring that Ribéry would not be sold, numerous media outlets declared that English clubs Chelsea and

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

, Spanish clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid, and Italian outfit

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

had strong interest in the player, with many of the clubs willing to offer as much as €65 million for his services. In order to quell the interest, Hoeneß declared that Ribéry would leave for nothing less than €100 million. Ribéry began the 2009–10 season struggling with

tendonitis Tendinopathy is a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder ( rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow ( tenn ...

in his left knee, but was healthy enough to start the season scoring his first goal in a 5–1 victory against rivals Borussia Dortmund, converting a free kick. The goal was notable in part due to Ribéry's celebration afterward; following his conversion, Ribéry ran across the field eluding several celebratory teammates and enthusiastically jumped into his manager Louis van Gaal's awaiting arms. The mutual show of admiration ended speculation by the media of the two having a poor relationship. In early October, the tendinitis began to affect his play, which resulted in Ribéry missing the rest of the year, as well as France's World Cup playoff tie with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

. On 23 January 2010, Ribéry returned to the team, making an appearance as a substitute in the club's 3–2 league win over Werder Bremen. Ribéry's first goal of the new year came on 10 February scoring in Bayern's 6–2

victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth. On 31 March, he scored the equalising goal in Bayern's 2–1 first leg win over English club

in the Champions League quarter-finals after converting a free kick, which deflected off of striker

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

before going into the net. In the club's ensuing match, Ribéry scored the opening goal in the team's 2–1 victory over

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

. On 20 April, Ribéry was sent off by referee Roberto Rosetti in the club's first leg Champions League semi-final against Lyon after being adjudged to have committed serious foul play on Lyon striker Lisandro López. The expulsion resulted in Ribéry missing the second leg in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, which Bayern won to advance to the

UEFA Champions League final The UEFA Champions League is a seasonal football competition established in 1955. Prior to the 1992–93 season, the tournament was named the European Cup. The UEFA Champions League is open to the league champions of all UEFA (Union of Europe ...

. On 28 April, Ribéry was handed a three-match suspension by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

's Control and Disciplinary Body for assault. The suspension meant that Ribéry would miss the final. Following the ruling, Bayern Munich announced their intent to appeal the suspension. On 5 May, the club's appeal was heard by the UEFA Appeals Body, which upheld Ribéry's ban meaning he would not only miss the final on 22 May, but also the next UEFA club competition fixture for which he is eligible. Immediately after the ruling, however, Bayern responded by announcing their intention of appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On 15 May, Ribéry scored the third goal in Bayern's 4–0 win over Werder Bremen in the 2009–10 edition of the DFB-Pokal final. Two days later, Ribéry's appeal was heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport and was dismissed meaning he was officially ruled out of the UEFA Champions League final against Inter Milan on 22 May. Bayern Munich lost the match 2–0. On 20 May, it was announced by German newspaper ''

Bild ''Bild'' (, ) or ''Bild-Zeitung'' (, ) is a German tabloid newspaper published by Axel Springer SE. The paper is published from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays, its sister paper '' Bild am Sonntag'' () is published instead, which has a differen ...

'' that Ribéry had agreed to a new five-year contract with Bayern Munich and would sign the contract upon his arrival in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to watch his teammates contest the Champions League final. On 23 May, the day after the final, the club officially confirmed the agreement. The new deal tied Ribéry to the club until 2015 and, though there is uncertainty regarding the annual salary, it has been speculated that the new deal pays him an annual salary of €10 million a year, the highest annual salary ever awarded to a player in the club's history.

2010–11 season

Ribéry began the 2010–11 season healthy for the first time since his debut season with the club. He was among the first World Cup players to arrive to pre-season training and made his season debut on 16 August 2010 in Bayern's 4–0 victory over Germania Windeck in the first round of the

. In the match, Ribéry scored his first goal of the season. Four days later, he assisted on the game-winning goal, scored by

Bastian Schweinsteiger Bastian Schweinsteiger ( , ; born 1 August 1984) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Earlier in his career, he primarily played as a wide midfielder before later switching to a central mi ...

, in the team's opening league match against VfL Wolfsburg. On 21 September, Ribéry was forced to leave the team's 2–1 win over 1899 Hoffenheim after suffering an ankle injury. The injury was discovered to be serious and Ribéry was ruled out for four weeks. Despite the initial diagnosis, Ribéry missed two months and returned to the team on 14 November in a league match against 1. FC Nürnberg. A week later, Ribéry was criticised by manager Louis van Gaal for his performance in a friendly match against

SpVgg Unterhaching Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league ...

, which was organised to help Ribéry and other injured first-team players regain full fitness. Though Van Gaal was disappointed in several of his players' performances, he singled out Ribéry, stating, "he ibérydidn't make any effort and showed no commitment." Ribéry did, however, remain in contention to appear in the team's next league match against

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. He subsequently appeared in the match as a substitute in the 61st minute. On 8 December, Ribéry scored a double in a 3–0 victory over

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

club

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in the Champions League. On 15 January, in Bayern's first league match following the winter break against Wolfsburg, Ribéry suffered a lower leg injury in the first half as a result of a tackle by Brazilian

Josué. Initial media reports described the injury as serious with Ribéry possibly having to undergo surgery to repair torn ligaments. After further medical analysis, however, the injury was only reduced to a sprain and Ribéry subsequently missed two weeks. He returned to the team on 5 February in a league match against

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

. On 12 February, Ribéry assisted on two goals in a 4–0 win over 1899 Hoffenheim. Following the team's 3–1 league win over

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

on 19 February, Ribéry embarked on a streak in which he charted a statistical output in Bayern's next five league matches. On 26 February, he assisted on the team's only goal in its 3–1 defeat against rivals Borussia Dortmund. In the next match, against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

, he repeated his feat from the previous match assisted on an

goal in another defeat. On 12 March, Ribéry had arguably his best performance of the season after scoring a goal and providing three assists in a 6–0 hammering of

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

. In Bayern's following match against

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

, he assisted on the team's opening goal, scored by

Mario Gómez Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He represented the Germany national football team, Germany national team ...

, and then netted the game-winning goal two minutes from time in a 2–1 win. Against

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

on 2 April, Ribéry assisted on the only goal of the match, which was converted by Robben. The streak ended in the team's 1–1 draw with 1. FC Nürnberg on 11 April. Six days later, Ribéry scored the final goal in a 5–1 sweeping of Bayer Leverkusen.

2011–12 season

Prior to the start of the 2011–12 season, Ribéry suffered an ankle injury during a pre-season training session, which resulted in the player being carried from the training ground by members of the club's medical team. Despite the player himself fearing he may have torn ligaments in the ankle, after an examination, club doctors revealed that the injury was not as serious as first thought, and Ribéry missed only one competitive match, a 3–0 DFB-Pokal away win over

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

on 1 August 2011. Ribéry made his season debut a week later in Bayern's opening league match of the season, playing the entire match in a 1–0 loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach. In the following week, he assisted on the game-winning goal, scored by

Luiz Gustavo Luiz Gustavo Dias (born 23 July 1987) is a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club São Paulo FC, São Paulo. He began his career as a left-back, but has played mostly as a defen ...

, in a win over VfL Wolfsburg. Ribéry scored his first goal of the campaign in the team's next league match against Hamburger SV. Bayern won the match 5–0. Following the international break, on 10 September, he scored a double and assisted on a goal in a 7–0 home victory over SC Freiburg. A week later, Ribéry assisted on both team goals in a shutout win over Schalke 04. Ribery Mata Boateng

Following the October international break, Ribéry manufactured another statistical output after scoring and assisting on two goals in a 4–0 win over

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

. On 29 October, he scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win over

FC Augsburg Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...

. In the UEFA Champions League, Ribéry scored his first goal in the competition on 22 November against Spanish club

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

in the group stage. He scored one goal in each half to give Bayern a 3–1 win, which allowed the club progression to the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. On 3 December, Ribéry scored another set of goals in a 4–1 win against Werder Bremen. The league win re-inserted Bayern back into first-place position in the league after momentarily losing the spot in late November. After failing to score a goal in two months, on 8 February 2012 Ribéry scored the game-winning goal in a 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart in the quarter-finals of the

. The goal resulted in Ribéry scoring in every official competition Bayern Munich has participated in since he joined the club in 2007. On 26 February, Ribéry scored two goals in a shutout win over Schalke 04. Two weeks later, in a 7–1 thrashing of 1899 Hoffenheim, he scored another goal and assisted on goals scored by

Toni Kroos Toni Kroos (born 4 January 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was known for his vision, pinpoint precision passing, crossing, and set-p ...

, Arjen Robben and Mario Gómez. In the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, Ribéry scored the second goal in the team's 4–2 extra time win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. The win took Bayern Munich to its 18th German Cup final. On 17 April, Ribéry scored Bayern's opening goal in its 2–1 first leg victory over Spanish club Real Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Two days after the match, it was reported by German publication ''Sport Bild'' that Ribéry was involved in a dressing room fight during half-time of the Madrid match with Arjen Robben. The report stated that "a clear-the-air meeting was held" and Ribéry was "said to have apologized and accepted a fine for his actions". In the team's ensuing match against Werder Bremen, Ribéry appeared as a substitute and scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute. On 12 May 2012, Ribéry scored in the 2012 DFB-Pokal Final, as Bayern lost 5–2 against rivals Borussia Dortmund. In extra time of the

2012 UEFA Champions League Final The 2012 UEFA Champions League final was an association football match which took place on Saturday, 19 May 2012 between Bayern Munich of Germany and Chelsea of England at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany. The match was to decide the winner ...

, he was subbed out after sustaining an injury from a tackle by

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

. Bayern eventually lost in a penalty shootout.

2012–13 season

Ribéry started the 2012–13 season by winning the 2012 DFL-Supercup against Borussia Dortmund on 12 August 2012. He scored two goals in a 2–0 victory over Hoffenheim on 6 October. Ribery scored a late minute goal against BATE Borisov in the Champions League, but the match ended a 3–1 loss for Bayern. On 20 October, Ribery provided hat-trick of assists in a 5–0 win over

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

. On 18 December, Ribéry was shown a straight red card after slapping Augsburg's midfielder Koo Ja-cheol during the DFB Pokal round of 16 match, but that did not stop his side from winning the match 2–0. He was given two-match suspension in the Pokal causing him to miss the quarter-final match against Borussia Dortmund and the semi-final match against VFL Wolfsburg even though his side won both of the matches and made it through to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. Ribéry also won the Champions League with Bayern Munich in an all-German final against Dortmund. He provided the assist to Arjen Robben who then scored the match-winning goal in the Champions League final. He completed the continental treble with Bayern after also winning the

2012–13 Bundesliga The 2012–13 Bundesliga was the 50th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 24 August 2012 with the season opening match at Westfalenstadion involving defending champions Borussia Dortmund and SV Werde ...

and 2013 DFB-Pokal against VfB Stuttgart. Ribéry also had the most assists with 15 assists in the Bundesliga.

2013–14 season

On 10 August 2013, Ribéry provided one assist to his teammate Arjen Robben in their first

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

game of the season as they won the game with a 3–1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach. Ribéry scored his first header in a 2–0 victory over 1. FC Nürnberg on 24 August. On 29 August, Ribéry won the

. On 30 August, Ribéry scored a 47th-minute goal against Chelsea in the 2013 UEFA Super Cup as his side won the

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

title for the first time in their club's history after winning in the penalty shoot-out. On 21 December, Ribéry was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player of the tournament after his side won the

title for the first time in club's history by beating

Raja Casablanca Raja Club Athletic, widely known as Raja Casablanca or simply Raja, is a Football team, football club based in Casablanca, Morocco, that competes in Botola, the top flight of Moroccan football league system, Moroccan football. Founded on 20 M ...

2–0 victory in the

. On 13 January 2014, he placed third in the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. On 7 February, Ribéry suffered burst blood vessel in his buttock which kept him out of the pitch for two weeks. On 25 March, he scored in a 3–1 win over Hertha BSC as Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions.

2014–15 season

On 18 October 2014, Ribéry made his return after suffering from a knee injury as a substitute in the 61st minute in a 6–0 home victory over Werder Bremen. Ribéry scored each goal in both the matches against

A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its exis ...

in the UEFA Champions League group stage, Bayern won 7–1 in the first match and 2–0 in the second match. He made an impressive performance and scored a goal in his first start for the club since April 2014 in a 3–1 victory over Hamburger SV in the

on 30 October. Ribéry scored his 100th goal for Bayern and the only goal of the match in 1–0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on 6 December. The goal happened in his 287th competitive match for Bayern. In January 2015, he suffered another injury which was muscle injury in training and missed only three matches against VfL Wolfsburg, Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart. On 27 March, Ribéry then suffered an ankle injury in a 7–0 home victory over

Shakhtar Donetsk Football Club Shakhtar Donetsk () is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club that was based in the city of Donetsk until 2014 when, due to the War in Donbas (2014–2022), War in Donbas, the club was forced to move to Lvi ...

in the

2nd leg match of the

Round of 16 A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

tie and was sidelined for the remaining of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. He scored nine goals and provided seven assists in this season.

2015–16 season

On 2 December 2015, Ribéry trained with the first team for the first time since his injury in March 2015. On 5 December, he made his first appearance since his ankle injury as a substitute coming in for

Robert Lewandowski Robert Lewandowski (; born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for club FC Barcelona, Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of a ...

and also scored a goal after six minutes of his appearance, but that didn't stop Bayern from 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 a bicycle kick goal for Bayern Munich to beat

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

with a 1–0 victory. He finished the

with two goals and three assists.

2016–17 season

Ribéry extended his contract with Bayern Munich by another year to June 2018, on 27 November 2016. On 17 September, Ribéry was involved in all Bayern's goal as he provided three assists to Robert Lewandowski,

Xabi Alonso Xabier Alonso Olano (, ; born 25 November 1981) is a Spanish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of La Liga club Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid. He is regarded as o ...

and Rafinha's goals to beat

FC Ingolstadt 04 Fußballclub Ingolstadt 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolsta ...

with a 3–1 victory. In the middle of the

, he suffered a thigh injury which kept him out from the pitch for almost four weeks. He made his comeback in a 3–0

quarter-final victory over Schalke 04 on 2 March 2017. Ribéry scored five goals and provided seventeen assists in this season.

2017–18 season

Ribéry started the

by winning the

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

as Bayern defeated their arch-rival Borussia Dortmund 5–4 on penalties. On 1 October 2017, he sustained a knee injury in a 2–2 draw to

. On 2 December, Ribéry made his return to the pitch in a 3–1 victory over Hannover 96 and made a record for Bayern Munich's most Bundesliga appearances by a non-German with 235th appearance, overtaking former Bayern player and current

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

Hasan Salihamidžić who had 234 appearances. He made another record of most competitive appearances by any non-German player for Bayern with 366 appearances in a 1–0 victory over 1. FC Köln, surpassing Hasan Salihamidžić's 365 appearances. Ribéry scored twice in a 6–0 home victory over Hamburger SV on 10 March 2018. On 7 May 2018, Ribéry again extended his contract with Bayern, until June 2019. He ended the season with six goals and five assists.

2018–19 season

Ribéry played his first competitive match of the

and won the

as Bayern defeated Eintracht Frankfurt with a 5–0 victory. On 1 September, Ribéry made his 250th Bundesliga appearance in a 3–0 victory over VfB Stuttgart. On 27 November, Ribéry scored his first goal of the season in a 5–1 win against Benfica in the Champions League. On 5 May 2019,

announced that Ribéry would be leaving the club at the end of the season, with a testimonial match set for 2020. On 18 May 2019, Ribéry won his ninth Bundesliga title with Bayern. With his ninth Bundesliga title, Ribéry became Bundesliga's all-time record champion (since surpassed by David Alaba and Thomas Müller). On 25 May 2019, Ribéry won his sixth

as Bayern defeated

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final. Ribéry came on as a substitute in the 87th minute and made history as this was his eighth DFB-Pokal final appearance. No other player has played in as many DFB-Pokal finals. Ribéry finished his career at Bayern with a club record 24 titles.

Fiorentina

In August 2019, Ribéry signed with Italian side

on a free transfer. He made his debut for the club on 24 August, coming on as a late substitute in a 4–3 home loss to

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

in the opening game of the 2019–20 Serie A season. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 away draw against

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

on 22 September. In October 2019, he received a three-match ban after pushing a match official.

Salernitana

On 6 September 2021, Ribéry signed for

, agreeing on a one-year contract with an automatical renewal in case the club succeeded in keeping its Serie A status by the end of the season. Appointed as team captain, Ribéry played only 23 league games due to recurring injuries. As Salernitana escaped relegation by the final day of the season, Ribéry's contract was automatically extended by one more year. In the following 2022–23 season, Ribéry only managed to play 36 minutes in a game against Roma as he regularly struggled with a recurring knee injury, thus leading to rumours regarding his possible immediate retirement. On 20 October 2022, Ribéry terminated his contract with Salernitana and announced his retirement.

International career

Prior to representing the senior team, Ribéry was ever present with the France under-21 team earning his first selection on 3 September 2004 in a 1–0 victory over

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in qualifying for the

2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 15th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. In December 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place from 23 May–4 June 2006. The tournament was w ...

. Ribéry scored his first under-21 goal five days later in a 1–0 friendly win over

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. On 15 November 2005, he scored an important goal against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during the qualification playoffs as France defeated them 3–2 on aggregate to advance to the finals. Ribéry, however, missed the competition after earning selection to coach Raymond Domenech's pre-

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

squad. In total with the under-21s, Ribéry made 13 appearances scoring two goals. Ribéry earned his first cap with the senior team in a 1–0 victory over

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

on 27 May 2006 appearing as a substitute in the 74th minute for striker

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (, ; born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at ...

. His solid performances in the friendly matches ahead of the

led to his inclusion in the team for the competition. Ribéry appeared in all seven matches France contested, starting six. On 27 June, he scored France's opening goal in the team's 3–1 Round of 16 win over

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

after receiving a through ball from

Patrick Vieira Patrick Paul Vieira (; born 23 June 1976) is a French professional association football, football manager and former player who is the head coach of Serie A club Genoa CFC, Genoa. He was named in the FIFA 100 of the greatest living footballers i ...

, which allowed the winger to dribble past an oncoming

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce miracu ...

and shoot into the empty net. He played in the

where France lost to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

on penalties. Ribéry's only shot on goal came in

and he was later replaced by Trezeguet. Following the retirement of

Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane (; ; ''Zineddin Lyazid Zidan''; ; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as an attacking midfi ...

, it was expected that Ribéry would succeed him and become the national team's talisman. He went scoreless for almost a year and a half before converting a penalty shot against

on 26 March 2008 at the

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

. Following the goal, Ribéry paid tribute to legendary French commentator Thierry Gilardi, who had died a day earlier. At

, France performed below expectations, with Ribéry appearing in all three group stage matches as France suffered early elimination. On 17 June 2008, in the team's final group stage match against Italy, Ribéry ruptured a ligament in his left ankle in just the 8th minute of play. Ribéry returned to the team on 11 October 2008 in a FIFA World Cup qualification match against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, scoring the team's opening goal in a 2–2 draw. On 28 March 2009, Ribéry scored the only goal away to

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. Three days later, he completed this feat again, this time at the Stade de France, netting the winner in the 75th minute following an assist from André-Pierre Gignac. On 11 May 2010, Ribéry was named to Domenech's 30-man preliminary squad to participate in the 2010 World Cup and his second World Cup overall. He was later named to the 23-man team to compete in the competition. Ribéry appeared in all three group stage matches. Following the team's opening match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, Ribéry was criticised for his performance by former international

Just Fontaine Just Louis Fontaine (18 August 193328 February 2023) was a French professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored the most goals ever in a single edition of the FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches in the 1958 tournament. In ...

, who questioned Ribéry's leadership ability. It was later reported by the media that Ribéry and striker

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

purposely "froze-out" midfielder

Yoann Gourcuff Yoann Miguel Gourcuff (born 11 July 1986) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played mainly as an attacking midfielder. He could also be utilized as a Second striker, withdrawn striker; he was described as a "pla ...

. Anelka was later dismissed from the team after reportedly having a dispute in which obscenities were passed, with Domenech during half-time of the team's 2–0 loss to Mexico. On 20 June, an emotional Ribéry appeared alongside Domenech on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

's football show '' Téléfoot'' to dispel rumours associated with the team and to also apologise to supporters for the national team's performance over the past two years, stating, "We ranceare 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 21 June, returned to training without incident. In the team's final group stage match against the hosts

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, Ribéry assisted 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 attend a hearing held by the Disciplinary Committee of the

French Football Federation The French Football Federation ( FFF and 3F; or Triple F; , ) is the governing body of football in France. It was formed in 1919 and is based in the capital, Paris. The FFF is a founding member of FIFA and is responsible for overseeing all aspec ...

(FFF) in response to the team's strike held at the World Cup. On 17 August, he received a three-match international ban for his part in the incident. Ribéry did not attend the hearing due to his parent club's objection. On 17 March 2011, Ribéry was called up to the national team by new manager

Laurent Blanc Laurent Robert Blanc (; born 19 November 1965) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back and is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Club (J ...

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 injuries, Ribéry missed three call-ups. On 21 March, after arriving to Clairefontaine ahead of the team's matches against

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

and

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Ribéry attended a personal press conference in which he apologised for his behaviour overall during the 2010 calendar year. He made his return to the team on 25 March in the team's match against Luxembourg and responded by assisting on the team's second goal, scored by Yoann Gourcuff, in its 2–0 win. In his first match at the Stade de France since his participation at the World Cup, against Croatia, Ribéry appeared as a substitute and was subject to jeers from some section of supporters, though other parts of the stadium chanted his name. After appearing regularly in qualifying for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

, on 29 May 2012, Ribéry was named to the squad to participate in the competition. Two days prior, he scored his first goal for France in over three years in a 3–2 friendly comeback win over

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. On 31 May, Ribéry scored the game-winning goal in a 2–0 win against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. Four days later, he capped off the trio of lead-in friendly matches ahead of the European Championship by scoring the opening goal in a 4–0 shutout win over

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

. Ribéry was included in France's squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

, but on 6 June, coach

Didier Deschamps Didier Claude Deschamps (; born 15 October 1968) is a French professional football manager and former player who has been managing the France national team since 2012. He played as a defensive midfielder for several clubs, in France, Italy, Engl ...

confirmed that he would miss the tournament through injury. Shortly afterwards, in August 2014 Ribéry retired from international football. He cited the reasons for his retirement as "purely personal".

Style of play and personality

Ribéry primarily played as a winger and was described as a player who was "fast, tricky, and an excellent dribbler who had great control with the ball at his feet". Despite being predominantly right-footed and utilised as a right-sided midfielder during his development years in France, since establishing himself as an international and at Bayern Munich, Ribéry personally admitted that his preference was to play on the left wing, even going as far as to state, "My place is on the left" when asked at a February 2010 media session while on international duty. Although he was often played on the left wing domestically, Ribéry struggled to establish himself as a left winger at the international level with France due to the presence of left-footed dominant players such as Florent Malouda. Ribéry declared that he was best utilised on the left side because "that is where I am most free and I am the best in my head". Playing on the left also allowed Ribéry to use his "bursts of acceleration and weaving runs" to effectively cut inside, which allowed him to take on opponents, exploit spaces, and give him the options of either shooting on goal with his stronger foot or delivering a decisive pass. Ribéry was also capable of playing in the centre of the field as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, where his vision, precise passing, technique, and playmaking skills were best exhibited; he was also deployed as a central

on occasion. Despite predominantly playing on the wing, Ribéry was known to be an excellent assist provider: during his twelve seasons with Bayern Munich, he amassed 124 assists in the Bundesliga; moreover, he averaged double-digits in assists every year beginning with his final season at Marseille. In addition to his skills, eye for goal, and playing ability, he also drew praise in the media over his defensive work-rate, tenacity, mentality, and energetic playing style. Ribéry was described as a provocateur on the field of play, with UEFA referring to him as "a crowd-pleaser – one of those rare breed of footballer capable of enjoying his talents while expressing them", due to his trickery, artistry, and creativity on the ball. During the 2006 World Cup, he was mentored by national team playmaker Zinedine Zidane. While boasting him as "the jewel of French football", Zidane also praised Ribéry as a person, declaring, "Franck just loves life. He's the kind of player that makes an impression every time he plays. He’s bound to become an important figure in the world of football." Ribéry's on-field personality was often matched off-field as he was often referred to as a "joker" and "prankster" by club and international teammates. The midfielder has stated that humour is very important, admitting, "It's important to always be smiling, to wake up and feel good. We (footballers) have a great job, we like what we do and we have fun." His more notable stunts include driving a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

on field during one of his last matches with Marseille; in his debut season with Bayern, emptying a bucket of water over former club goalkeeper

Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...

from the roof of the club's training centre; and, during the 2008–09 winter break, commandeering the team bus while in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and crashing it. Ribéry, however, also struggled with injuries throughout his career. Since his first season at Bayern in which he appeared in 46 of the club's 54 competitive matches, Ribéry struggled with minor and serious injuries that resulted in the player failing to appear in over 40 matches in subsequent seasons; the midfielder passed the 40-match barrier in the 2011–12 season after failing to in the previous three campaigns. Ahead of the 2008–09 season, he tore ligaments in one of his ankles while on international duty and, during the 2009–10 season, struggled with tendinitis in his left knee. In the next season, Ribéry suffered an ankle injury, which resulted in the midfielder missing two months, despite the initial diagnosis ruling him out for four weeks. He later suffered a similar ankle injury at the start of the 2011–12 season. Ribéry, himself, has admitted that injuries led to most of his five-year career at Bayern being difficult, stating in July 2011, "The last two years (2009–10 and 2010–11 seasons) have been more difficult, partly because I kept picking up injuries. The important thing for me now is to avoid any more injuries".

Coaching career

In October 2022, just after his retirement as an active footballer, Ribéry agreed to stay at

as a technical collaborator to head coach

Davide Nicola Davide Nicola (born 5 March 1973) is an Italian professional football manager and former player. Club career Nicola was born in Luserna San Giovanni. During his time with Genoa, he was noted for kissing a policewoman on the sideline after a g ...

. He was confirmed on his role also under new head coach Paulo Sousa. In October 2023, Ribéry obtained a UEFA B coaching licence.

Personal life

Ribéry's younger brothers, François and Steeven, are also football players. François played for many amateur clubs in France, among others for

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

in the Championnat National. Steeven played for Bayern's reserve team for two years. Ribéry's wife, Wahiba, is a French national of Algerian descent and the couple have three daughters named Hiziya, Shahinez and Keltoum Chérifa, and two sons named Seif el Islam and Mohammed. Ribéry is a convert to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, following which, he adopted the name Bilal Yusuf Mohammed.

Commercial promotions

Since establishing himself as an international, Ribéry has been involved in numerous promotional campaigns. He is sponsored by American sportswear company Nike and regularly wears Nike Mercurial Vapors. He appeared in several television advertisements for Nike and, during the 2007–08 Bundesliga season, starred in a one-off television 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. Ribéry features in EA Sports' ''FIFA'' video game series. For the 2008–09 season, he appeared on the French cover of '' FIFA 09'' alongside international teammate

Karim Benzema Karim Mostafa Benzema (born 19 December 1987) is a French professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for and Captain (association football), captains Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad Clu ...

, and was the ninth-highest rated player in ''

FIFA 15 ''FIFA 15'' is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label. It was released on 23 September 2014 in North America, 25 September in Europe and Australia and 26 September in the ...

''. On 25 May 2010, a billboard of Ribéry was officially unveiled in his home city of Boulogne-sur-Mer ahead of the 2010 World Cup. The billboard paid tribute to a similar billboard that was erected for Zinedine Zidane in his home city of

during his career. The 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 Nord-Pas-de-Calais (; ; West Flemish: ''Nôord-Nauw van Kales'') was a former regions of France, administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new Regions of France, region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the ...

region, which initially opposed the billboard, agreed to allow construction of the billboard. 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 several international superstars featured in Nike's "The Last Game", a five-minute animated ad made during the run-up to the 2014 World Cup that went viral. He appeared in the music video for " Même pas fatigué !!!" by

Magic System Magic systems in games are the rules, limitations, abilities, and characteristics that define magic in a game. Magic points A magic point, sometimes known as a mana point, often abbreviated to MP, is a unit of measure that indicates either or ...

and Khaled. The single released in 2009 stayed seven weeks at number one in

SNEP SNEP (, in English National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) is the inter-professional organisation that protects the interests of the French record industry. Originally known under the acronym SNICOP, the organisation was established in ...

French Singles Chart.

Indictment

On 18 April 2010, it was first reported by French television service M6 that four members of the French national team were being investigated for their roles as clients of a prostitution ring that was being operated inside a Paris

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

, with some of the women possibly being underage. The report also stated that two of the players were already questioned as witnesses by

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

André Dando and a group of

magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a ''magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...

. The report described the two players as being one who "is a major player in a big foreign club" and that the other "plays in the championship of France Ligue 1". Later that day, the players were discovered to be Ribéry and

. During his interview with Dando, Ribéry reportedly admitted to having had a relationship with a prostitute, but did not know that she was a minor at the time the relationship began. On 29 April 2010, the country's Secretary of State for Sports Rama Yade, after refusing to publicly comment on the case in its infancy, declared that any player placed under investigation should not represent the France national team. The following day, a judicial source confirmed that Ribéry would not be placed under official investigation, if at all, before the start of the 2010 World Cup. On 20 July, Ribéry was questioned by Paris

police The police are Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

and, following questioning, was indicted by judge Dando on the charge of "solicitation of a minor prostitute". In November 2011, prosecutors asked for the cases against Ribéry and Benzema to be dropped, saying that the players were not aware that the escort, identified as Zahia Dehar, was 16 years old when they had paid to have sex with her.

Career statistics

Club

* 1. Includes the French League Cup, German League Cup, German Super Cup,

, and

International

Source: ;International goals ''France score listed first, score and result columns indicate score after each Ribéry goal.''

Honours

Galatasaray *

: 2004–05 Marseille *

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Bayern Munich *

: 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 *

: 2007–08, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

: 2012–13 *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

France *

runner-up:

Individual * UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: August 2004, October 2005, November 2005, April 2006 * UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2006 * UNFP Ligue 1 Goal of the Year: 2006 * UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year:

* UNFP 20 Year Special Team Trophy: 2011 * Etoile d'Or: 2006 * Onze de Bronze: 2006, 2008 * French Player of the Year: 2007, 2008, 2013 *

Footballer of the Year in Germany The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in West Germany from 1960 to 1990 and Germany since 1991. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title W ...

: 2008 * ESM Team of the Year: 2007–08, 2012–13 *

: 2012–13 *

Man of the Match:

* '' kicker''

Team of the Season: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14 * UEFA Champions League top assist provider: 2011–12 * Bundesliga top assist provider: 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 * Bundesliga Player of the Year: 2012–13 * The kicker Man of the Year: 2013 * Globe Soccer Best Footballer of the Year: 2013 * FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2013 * FIFA Club World Cup Most Valuable Player of the Final:

* FIFA FIFPRO World 11:

* FIFA FIFPRO World 11 5th team: 2014 *

FIFA Ballon d'Or The FIFA Ballon d'Or ("Golden Ball") was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and ''France Football'', the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Y ...

third place:

* DFB-Pokal top assist provider: 2016–17 * Bundesliga Goal of the Month: May 2019 * Serie A Player of the Month: September 2019 *

Player of the Season: 2019–20

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribery, Franck 1983 births Living people Footballers from Boulogne-sur-Mer Converts to Islam French Muslims French men's footballers Men's association football wingers US Boulogne players Olympique Alès players Stade Brestois 29 players FC Metz players Galatasaray S.K. footballers Olympique de Marseille players FC Bayern Munich footballers ACF Fiorentina players US Salernitana 1919 players Championnat National 2 players Championnat National players Ligue 1 players Süper Lig players Bundesliga players Serie A players France men's under-21 international footballers France men's international footballers 2006 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners French expatriate men's footballers French expatriate sportspeople in Turkey French expatriate sportspeople in Germany French expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Italy 21st-century French sportsmen

Early life

Club career

Early career

Galatasaray

Move to Marseille and CAS ruling

2005–06 season

2006–07 season

Bayern Munich

2007–08 season

2008–09 season

2009–10 season

2010–11 season

2011–12 season

2012–13 season

2013–14 season

2014–15 season

2015–16 season

2016–17 season

2017–18 season

2018–19 season

Fiorentina

Salernitana

International career

Style of play and personality

Coaching career

Personal life

Commercial promotions

Indictment

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links