Ribery’s career lauded as ‘one of the greatest in football’ by Bayern CEO Kahn after retirement

Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn lauded the career of Franck Ribery as “one of the greatest in football” after the Frenchman announced his retirement.

On Friday, Ribery ended a 22-year career that saw him represent the likes of Metz, Galatasaray, Marseille, Fiorentina and Salernitana.

The 39-year-old spent the bulk of his career at Bayern, though, where he won nine Bundesliga titles in 12 years.

He also won six DFB-Pokal crowns, one Champions League, a European Super Cup and a Club World Cup during his time in Germany.

Speaking to Bayern’s website as they paid tribute to a club great, Kahn – Ribery’s former team-mate – said: “One of the greatest careers in football – not just FC Bayern – is coming to an end with Franck Ribery.

“I had the fortune to play together with him and could see clearly from my goal how he excited our fans with his attacking play at the other end of the pitch. Franck was a rogue on the pitch, something very special, stood for cunning.

“FC Bayern is proud to have had him in its ranks for over 10 years and to have won the biggest titles with him.”

Ribery made 425 appearances for the Bundesliga club in all competitions, scoring 124 goals and recording 182 assists.

Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic added: “There’s always talk of football needing characters, and Franck was one of the biggest characters in world football. You don’t get many like him, so we’ll miss him.

“Looking back, Franck’s signing in 2007 was sort of the foundation for FC Bayern’s rise to being consistently one of Europe’s best clubs. Franck was a virtuoso on the ball, a great fighter, a joker, always left his soul on the pitch and gave his all for our club.”

Ribery moved to Fiorentina after leaving Bayern in 2019, scoring five and assisting nine goals in 51 appearances before signing for Salernitana last year.

He will remain at Salernitana in a non-playing capacity, the Italian club confirmed.