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    Soccer News: Bayern legend, best player in Europe and almost the man with the Golden Ball – Ribéry finishes

    Franck Ribery’s playing career has come to an end.

    On Friday, the former France and Bayern Munich winger announced his retirement at the age of 39, agreeing to terminate his contract with Serie A side Salernitana.

    He signed with Salernitana ahead of last season, although he failed to score in the league for the first time since 2004/05.

    His only Serie A appearance this season came in a 1-0 loss to Roma back in August, when he came on as a second-half substitute, and truth be told, it’s not surprising when rumors of his imminent termination recently surfaced. careers.

    However, there can be no doubt that Ribéry will go down in history as one of the greatest players in European football today.

    In 2013, Ribéry was nominated for the Ballon d’Or, finishing third in the voting after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

    It’s no shame to lose against the top two players in this game, and using Opta’s data, here are some of the key facts from Ribery’s brilliant career.

    Breakthrough League 1

    After making his name at Brest in Ligue 2, Ribéry was recruited by Metz in 2004. He spent only half a season there and scored just one goal before joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, but he made a big impact, comparable to one of the club’s top exporters, Robert Pires.

    His only goal in Turkey came in the Turkish Cup final against Gal’s great rivals Fenerbahçe in a 5–1 win. After winning his first trophy, Ribéry traveled home to France, signing with Marseille.

    It was a dirty move, with FIFA ultimately ruling in Ribéry’s favor after the player claimed that Gala had not paid his salary and also claimed that he had been threatened by his former agent and the club’s director.

    Ribéry spent two seasons at Marseille and became a star, being named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year in 2006.

    His performances in the 2006 World Cup (more on that later) only raised his profile as Marseille garnered interest from Real Madrid, Arsenal and, arguably, rivals Lyon, to keep Ribéry.

    This decision paid off for OM. In his last campaign in France in 2006-07, Ribéry provided eight assists, trailing only Nancy’s Benjamin Gavanon (nine), and had the highest 90-minute chances created (2.95) among players, who played more than 100 minutes on the field. season.

    Marseille finished second after losing the Coupe de France final and Ribéry was named France Football’s French Player of the Year.

    Prosperity for France

    Ribéry made his debut for Les Bleus in May 2006 ahead of the World Cup in Germany, where he truly made a name for himself as a superstar.

    Between his debut and his last international match in March 2014, Ribéry made more appearances for France than any other player (81) in the same period, 11 more than runner-up Florent Malouda.

    Indeed, his 37 goals (16 goals, 21 assists) were more than any other French player and ranks him sixth on the national goals list in the 21st century.

    He helped France reach the final of the 2006 World Cup, although they failed to qualify from the group stage in South Africa four years later and success also eluded them at the Euros during Ribéry’s tenure on the international stage.

    Greatness in Germany

    In 2007, Bayern paid Marseille €25 million for the 24-year-old. It was an investment worth every cent.

    Ribéry has made 425 appearances for Bayern in all competitions, making him the second most appearances for the club behind David Alaba (431) since 1965.

    In terms of French players, only Jonathan Schmid has made more Bundesliga appearances (296) than Ribéry (273), who scored 124 goals in all competitions for Bayern.

    Since the collection of detailed data on the Bundesliga began in 2004, Thomas Müller is the only player to have provided more assists than Ribéry, who scored 92 goals.

    Ribéry was at the peak of his career in 2012-13 when he helped Bayern win the treble and was named the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year and then finished third in the Ballon d’Or.

    That season, he provided 14 assists in the Bundesliga, trailing only Andres Iniesta (16) in total when it came to players in Europe’s big five leagues.

    Ribéry left Bayern as a great club, forming one of the most formidable partnerships in history with Arjen Robben. He has won nine Bundesliga titles, second only to former teammates Alaba and Robert Lewandowski (10 each) when it comes to foreign players in Germany’s top tier.

    Italian swan song

    After leaving Bayern, Ribéry tried his hand at Italy, moving to Fiorentina.

    In two seasons at Florence, Ribery created 70 Serie A chances, second only to Eric Pulgar (104) for Fiorentina. His dribbling was still top notch and Gaetano Castrovilli was his only teammate to dribble more (123 to Ribery’s 117).

    Ribéry played 51 times for Fiorentina in all competitions, starting with 47 times. He scored five goals, made nine assists and made 182 touches in the opponent’s penalty area. Surprisingly, he made only five successful crosses, although he was often used in La Viola’s more central role.

    In his 25 appearances for Salernitana, Ribéry has failed to score, although his three assists in Serie A mean he is the club’s top scorer, along with Milan Djuric and Pasquale Mazzocchi, in the same amount of time.

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