Franck Ribéry has signed a new one-year deal with Bayern Munich, and has said that he wanted to end his career with the Bundesliga champions.
The Frenchman’s existing deal had been set to expire at the end of this season, but he will now extend his stay at the club into a twelfth season.
All eyes will now be on Arjen Robben to see if he follows suit in agreeing a new contract.
A Bayern legend extends his stay
Ribéry joined Bayern in the summer of 2007 from Olympique Marseille for a fee of €30 million, and in the 11 years since he has worked his way into Bayern folklore.
He has appeared 385 times for them, become their record foreign appearance-maker earlier this season, and has scored 117 goals and made 179 assists. He has won the Bundesliga eight times, as well as five DFB-Pokals and one UEFA Champions League title in 2013.
Although injuries have often impacted how much he can contribute in recent seasons, he still remains a key part of Bayern’s side when available. He has appeared 32 times this year, including 19 in another Bundesliga-winning campaign, scoring six goals.
Munich is Ribéry’s ‘home’
“We're very pleased that Franck is staying with us,” said Bayern’s sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, whose appearance record Ribéry surpassed in December. “Franck has once again (this season) proven… what excellent performances he’s capable of,” he added, “and the great quality he possesses.”
Ribéry himself said that he is “very happy that I’ll get to play for this great club for another year.” He continued by saying that “Munich has long since become home for me and my family,” and that “I’ve always said I want to end my career at Bayern.”
Ribéry signing a new deal had been expected for several weeks, as has been the case with Robben. Bayern will now be eagerly anticipating whether the second half of the 'Robbery' partnership will be putting pen to paper once more.
Quotes via Bayern Munich.