Salernitana winger Franck Ribery praised Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic: He has the mentality of a big player.

The two briefly played together at Fiorentina before the ex-France star left once his contract expired at the end of last season and the Serbia forward was signed by Juve in January.

Ribery enjoyed enormous success at Bayern Munich before moving to Serie A while he was also part of an incredible France side, and said he is impressed with Vlahovic’s mentality.

“Vlahovic has the mentality of a big player,” Ribery told DAZN. “He has the right mentality – he is someone who works hard.

“In 2006, when I played with great players at international level, for 10 years I played with some greats like [Zinedine] Zidane and [Lilian] Thuram.

“I was quite smart and I watched their behaviour because they were great players.”

Ribery said Vlahovic, 22, stood out because he has a different mentality to a lot of young players in the game.

“I like young players when they are intelligent, when they believe, they work and they’re hungry,” Ribery added. “I have known a lot of talents who were lacking grit.

“I always look to help young player out, to help them become greats. For example, I see [David] Alaba as a brother.

“I met him when he was 16 and today he is world class. The first time he saw me with a nice car and nice watch, I told him not to think about the car or the watch but to work hard and make a lot of sacrifices.

“Then slowly, the cars, watches and the rest will arrive.”

Ribery won nine Bundesliga titles and six German Cups in 12 seasons and with Bayern Munich. 

His best moment came in the 2012-13 campaign when he helped the Bavarians win the Treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League and he finished third on the Ballon d’Or podium behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. 

One thought on “Juventus’ Vlahovic has ‘mentality of big player’ – Ribery”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector