Franck Ribery will no longer be suiting up for Les Blues.
Coming as a shock, the 31-year-old Bayern Munich winger has been quoted as saying he has quit the French national team. The interview was released during the German Super Cup final between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund with Ribery on the sidelines as he continues his recovery from a back injury.
According to German magazine Kicker, Ribery said that “the moment has come” to quit, adding that the move comes “purely” for personal reasons because he wanted to spend more time with his family.
Ribery missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil due to injury and was an influential part of French manager Didier Deschamps’ plans. His announcement does seems a little surprising considering his superb form for Bayern over the past two seasons and the fact that the next European Championships are being held in his homeland in 2016.
Our friends over at Soccerly have all the details, as Ribery calls it quits.French winger Franck Ribery has announced his retirement from international football at just 31-years-old. Ribery told German magazine Kicker that it is now time for him to focus on his family, club and make way for the younger players who have a thirst to shine in the international stage.
“I am stopping, I realized that this moment has come,” Ribery said. “I want to focus on my family and fully concentrate on my work at Bayern Munich and make win in the national team for the many you and exciting players.”
The Bayern Munich starlet, who was arguably having the best year of his career in 2013, suffered a sorry back injury that left him out of the French squad that competed in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The 2013 UEFA Player of the Year, came with this surprising news on Wednesday morning, on a time where many critics hailed the winger to be on his prime.
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