Franck Ribery’s Top 5 Moments at Bayern Munich As Former France Winger Retires From Football at 39

Franck Ribery’s Top 5 Moments at Bayern Munich As Former France Winger Retires From Football at 39

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:14 PM
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  • Former Bayern Munich and France winger Franck Ribery has announced his retirement from football at the age of 39 after battling with a series of injuries
  • Ribery spent 12 years at Bayern Munich and forged a great partnership with Arjen Robben where he won several trophies including the Bundesliga and Champions League
  • Ribery scored 124 goals and contributed 182 assists in 425 games for Bayern Munich from 2007-2019 before joining Serie A side Fiorentina

France winger, Franck Ribery has finally retired from football after a successful career spanning over 33 years following the termination of his contract with Serie A side Salernitana.

The 39-year-old former Bayern Munich winger has been struggling with a knee issue and is yet to play a game since the Serie A opening day defeat to Roma.

Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich, Germany, Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, France
Franck Ribery spent 12 years as a Bayern Munich player and won several laurels with the Bundesliga heavyweights. Photo by Sandra Behne
Source: Getty Images

Ribéry whose career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne according to Wikipedia, has played for some of the most prestigious clubs in the world including Bayern Munich.

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The Frenchman spent 12 years with the German giants and went on to become a cult hero at the club, winning several trophies including the Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League titles.

Here, Sports Brief takes a look at Ribery’s illustrious career with Bayern Munich and his best 6 moments with the Bavarians.

1. First Bundesliga goal against Bremen

Ribery moved from Marseille to Bayern in the summer of 2007 with a lot of fanfare and ceremony, paying a then-record club transfer price of about €25million, Bundesliga reports.

The 24-year-old opened his Bundesliga account in style, caressing a Panenka past Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese from the penalty spot.

That set the tone for an exceptional first season for Ribery, who was swiftly nicknamed 'Kaiser Franck' by the Bayern Munich fans.

2. First Bundesliga title with Bayern

Franck Ribery was named Footballer of the Year in both Germany and France, after he played a key role to help Bayern Munich win the Bundesliga and DFB Cup double in 2008.

Ribery came off the bench to devastating effect in the second half against Stuttgart as he rifled in a glorious long-range effort to put Bayern 3-1 up in the 75th minute.

Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, Germany, UEFA Champions League, France
Franck Ribery won his first Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich in 2008. Photo by Thomas Niedermueller
Source: Getty Images

Barely a minute later, he drove in a second with his left to ensure the Bavarians took all three points as the Bavarians got their hands on their 20th Bundesliga crown.

3. First Champions League title in 2013

Franck Ribery finally got his hands on Europe's top prize in London as Bayern Munich cruised to the UEFA Champions League title in 2013.

Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the first UEFA Champions League final between two German clubs at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 2013.

Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, Germany, UEFA Champions League, France
Franck Ribery played a crucial role to help Bayern Munich win their 5th Champions League trophy against Borussia Dortmund in 2013. Photo by Ullstein Bild
Source: Getty Images

Mario Mandzukic and Ilkay Gündogan traded second-half goals before Arjen Robben got a dramatic late winner for Bayern Munich assisted by Ribery in the English capital.

4. 100th competitive goal and French record

Franck Ribery scored his 100th goal for Bayern Munich which came in his 287th game for the German giants, and his 186th in the Bundesliga.

The French winger brought up his competitive ton for Bayern in a hard-fought win over Bayer Leverkusen midway through the 2014/15 season.

Ribery could only make just 15 league appearances for Bayern Munich in the 2014/15 season after battling with injuries that made him miss the first few months of the campaign and the 2014 FIFA World Cup for France.

5. Record-equalling eighth Bundesliga title

On his 35th birthday, Franck Ribery wrote another line in the Bundesliga history books, joining the inner circle of Bayern legends to have won eight German league titles.

Ribery joined Bayern icons such as Scholl, Oliver Kahn, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Phillip Lahm to have won 8 Bundesliga titles for the Bavarians.

Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, Germany, UEFA Champions League, France
Franck Ribery became a cult hero at Bayern Munich after he won his 8th Bundesliga title with the German giants. Photo by Alexander Hassenstein
Source: Getty Images

Having become Bayern's record foreign appearance maker in the Bundesliga in December 2017, Ribery thus confirmed his place in the pantheon of club greats.

Franck Ribéry officially retires

Earlier, Sports Brief reported after 19 years as a professional footballer, former Bayer Munich winger and French international Franck Ribéry has announced his football retirement.

The 39-year-old was playing his football with Serie A side US Salernitana 1919, but terminated his contract after picking up a knee injury.

With his contract terminated, Ribéry officially announced that he was retiring from football.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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