Franck Ribéry

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 Lille, 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, US Boulogne. 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. 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. In April 2003 he was put on trial by…

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 in qualifying for the 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship. Ribéry scored his first under-21 goal five days later in a 1–0 friendly win over Slovakia. On 15 November 2005, he scored an important goal against England 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 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 on 27 May 2006 appearing as a substitute in the 74th minute for striker David Trezeguet. His solid performances in the friendly matches ahead of the 2006 FIFA World Cup 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 after receiving a through ball from Patrick Vieira, which allowed the winger to dribble past an oncoming Iker Casillas and shoot into the empty net. He played in the final where France lost to Italy on penalties. Ribéry's only shot on goal came in extra time and he was later replaced by Trezeguet. Following the retirement of Zinedine Zidane, it was…

In October 2022, just after his retirement as an active footballer, Ribéry agreed to stay at Salernitana as a technical collaborator to head coach Davide Nicola. He was confirmed on his role also under new head coach Paulo Sousa. In October 2023, Ribéry obtained a UEFA B coaching licence.

Franck Henry Pierre Ribéry was born on 7 April 1983 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, 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 with his father, which Ribéry referred to as a "learning experience".