France’s Franck Ribery, who currently plays for Bayern Munich, was named UEFA player of the season, beating rivals Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Born 7 April 1983, he is a French international footballer who also plays for the France national team. He primarily plays as a winger, preferably on the left side although being right-footed, and is known for pace, energy, skill and precise passing.[2] Ribéry is described as a player who is fast, tricky and an excellent dribbler, who has great control with the ball at his feet.[3] Since joining Bayern, he has been recognised on the world stage as one of the best French players of his generation. The previous talisman of French national team, Zinedine Zidane, has called Ribéry the “jewel of French football”.[4]
Ribéry’s 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. There, he has won the double on two occasions; in the 2007–08 and 2009–10 seasons. In 2010, Ribéry reached with FC Bayern the 2010 UEFA Champions League Final, but was unable to participate in the match due to suspension. In 2012, Ribéry reached the final again, but Bayern lost against Chelsea on penalties. Finally in 2013, Ribéry won the Champions League and the Treble, with Bayern Munich in a “German” final against rivals Borussia Dortmund.