Franck Ribéry

Franck Ribery born 7 April 1983 is a French football player who currently plays for German club Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. He primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side, and is known for "pace, energy, skill and precise passing." Since joining Bayern, Ribéry has been recognised on the world stage as one of the best French players of his generation. The previous talisman of Les Bleus, Zinedine Zidane, has called Ribéry the "jewel of French football".

Franck Ribery career began in 1989 as a youth player for local hometown club Conti Boulogne. He left the club after seven years to join professional outfit Lille, but departed the club after three years after having difficulties adjusting. In 1999, Ribéry joined US Boulogne, where he played for two years. After spending two more years in the amateur divisions with two different clubs (Alès and Brest), in 2004, Ribéry earned a move to Ligue 1 club FC Metz. After six months with the club, Ribéry moved to Turkey in January 2005 joining Galatasaray where he won the Turkish Cup. After six months at Galatasaray, he departed the club in controversial fashion in order to return to France to join Marseille. Ribéry spent two seasons at the club helping the Marseillais reach the final of the Coupe de France in back-to-back seasons. In 2007, Ribéry joined German club Bayern Munich for a then club-record fee of €25 million. With Bayern, he has won the the double on two occasions; in the 2007–08 and 2009–10 seasons. In 2010, Ribéry contributed to the team that reached the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, but was unable to participate in the match due to suspension.

Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry
Franck RibéryRibéry is a French international. Prior to representing the senior team, he played at under-21 level. At senior level, Ribéry has represented his nation two FIFA World Cups and UEFA Euro 2008. He made his international debut in May 2006 against Mexico. At the 2006 World Cup, Ribéry scored his first international goal against Spain and played in the final match against Italy. Individually, Ribéry is a two-time winner of the French Player of the Year award and has also won the German Footballer of the Year becoming the first player to hold both honours. He has also been named to the UEFA Team of the Year and declared the Young Player of the Year in France.
Ribéry was born on 7 April 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer 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 truck.Ribéry suffered serious facial injuries that resulted in over one hundred stitches and left two long scars down the right side of his face.Prior to joining Stade Brestois in 2003, he worked as a construction worker with his father, which Ribéry referred to as a "learning experience". Ribéry's younger brother François is also a football player, and has played for numerous amateur clubs in France. François plays for Bayonne in the Championnat National. Ribéry's wife, Wahiba, is a French national of Algerian descent and the couple have two daughters.Ribéry is a convert to Islam and, following his conversion, adopted the name Bilal Yusuf Mohammed.
Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry
Franck Ribéry
Franck RibérySince establishing himself as an international, Ribéry has been involved in numerous promotional campaigns. For the 2008–09 season, he appeared, alongside international teammate Karim Benzema, on the French cover of video game FIFA 09. Ribéry is sponsored by American sportswear company Nike and regularly wears Nike Mercurial Vapors. He has appeared in several television advertisements for the brand and, during the 2007–08 Bundesliga season, starred in a one-time 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. On 25 May 2010, a 27 by 30 metres (89 × 98 ft) billboard of Ribéry was officially unveiled in his home city of Boulogne-sur-Mer ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The billboard paid tribute to a similar billboard that was erected for Zinedine Zidane in his home city of Marseille 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 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 FIFA World Cup.