Salernitana star Franck Ribery reveals Barcelona, Juventus, and José Mourinho’s Real Madrid wanted to sign him in the past, but he has no regrets given what he achieved at Bayern Munich.
The France star spent 12 seasons in Germany, winning 23 trophies, including one Champions League and nine Bundesliga titles.
“Football is my life and still, today, I am happy on the pitch. I feel well and can pass my experience on to the younger players,” he told Tuttosport.
“I’ve made a lot of sacrifices during my career. Whether the target is the Champions League or Serie A survival, you must be starving to win and have passion.”
Salernitana visit Mourinho’s Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday. What’s his rapport with the Special One?
“It will be nice to meet Mourinho. He’s never been my coach, but we’ve always been on good terms. We met many times in the Champions League and we always spoke after games. He wanted me at Real Madrid in the past, but Bayern didn’t let me go.
“Barcelona and Juventus also called me, but I have no regrets, I am proud of having spent 12 years at a giant club like Bayern Munich, where I won everything and wrote important pages in the club’s history.”
Salernitana sit rock bottom of the Serie A table and are likely to be relegated at the end of the season. However, the 39-year-old refuses to give up just yet.
“I am optimistic, we need a victory and a bit of luck. We are working well as a group. There are many games remaining and we have two games in hand,” he said.
The former France international has yet to find the net this season in Serie A and delivered two assists in 18 appearances in Italy’s top flight. This is his third season in Italy after a two-year spell at Fiorentina. Ribery’s contract at the Stadio Arechi runs out in the summer, but it will be automatically renewed for one more season if the Granata avoid Serie B relegation.
#Ribery esclusivo: "#Vlahovic il nuovo #Lewandowski" 🔥 https://t.co/nuTRpIjcIS
— Tuttosport (@tuttosport) April 8, 2022