Franck Ribéry remains in Serie A. As announced, the 38-year-old striker has chosen to extend his Serie A adventure by joining Salernitana, promoted this season in the Italian top flight, the club announced on Monday.
"
Kaiser Franck
" had been free since June 30 and the end of his two-year contract with Fiorentina, the Florentine club not having offered him an extension as he wanted.
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Ribéry signed for a year in Salerno, a coastal town on the outskirts of Naples, with an option for an additional year. The former Bayern player was greeted at Arechi stadium by his teammates and several hundred supporters. “
It's an incredible passion and that's why I came to Salerno (...). I came to bring my experience to the team,
”explained the player during a press conference.
Ribéry, whom some now see as the “Maradona de Salerno”, will have for main mission to contribute to the maintenance in Serie A of the Salernitana, which is playing the third season of its history in the elite, the first since the financial year 1998- 99.
Second in Serie B last season, the promoted started with two defeats against Bologna (2-3) and AS Roma (0-4).
Training with the neo-Lyonnais Jérôme Boateng
From the amount of salary (1.5 million euros for the season) to housing, everything had been negotiated in recent days, according to several media, with a player seduced by the enthusiasm of Salernitana supporters. Since the end of his contract with Fiorentina, the former French international (81 caps, 16 goals) has continued to train, especially within the facilities of Bayern Munich with his friend Jérôme Boateng, who joined Lyon in the final hours of the transfer window, and awaited proposals. His name was mentioned in particular this summer on the side of Sampdoria, Hellas Verona and Lazio.
At Fiorentina, where he received a superstar welcome two years ago, Ribéry had some great evenings in Serie A (50 matches, 5 goals) but was also regularly held back by physical glitches. And the club wanted to turn the page with the arrival of a new coach, Vincenzo Italiano. The native of Boulogne-sur-Mer will thus know his ninth club since the start of his career which took him from Boulogne to Munich, via Brest, Metz, Marseille or Galatasaray. His record includes nine German league titles and a Champions League with Bayern and a runner-up title with France in 2006.