Franck Ribery's playing career has come to an end.
On Friday, the former France and Bayern Munich winger announced his retirement at the age of 39, having agreed to terminate his deal with Serie A club Salernitana.
He signed for Salernitana ahead of last season, though for the first time since the 2004-05 season, failed to score in the league.
His sole Serie A appearance this season came in a 1-0 defeat to Roma back in August, as a second-half substitute, and in truth it was no surprise when rumours recently emerged of his imminent retirement.
There can be no doubt, however, that Ribery will go down as one of European football's greats of the modern era.
In 2013, Ribery was nominated for the Ballon d'Or, finishing third in the voting behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Falling short against two of the best to play the game is no shame, and using Opta data, here are some of the key facts from Ribery's glittering career.
Ligue 1 breakthrough
Having made a name for himself with Brest in Ligue 2, Ribery was recruited by Metz in 2004. He spent only half a season there and scored just one goal before joining Turkish giants Galatasaray, yet he made a big impact, with comparisons drawn to one of the club's greatest exports, Robert Pires.
His only goal in Turkey came in the Turkish Cup final against Gala's great rivals Fenerbahce, in a 5-1 victory. Having claimed his first trophy, Ribery headed home to France, signing for Marseille.
It was a messy move, with FIFA ultimately ruling in Ribery's favour after the player claimed he had not been paid his wages by Gala, as well as alleging to have been threatened by his former agent and a club director.
Ribery spent two seasons with Marseille and became a star, being named the National Union of Professional Footballers' (UNFP) Young Player of the Year in 2006.
His performances at the 2006 World Cup (more on that later) only increased his profile, with Marseille seeing off interest from Real Madrid, Arsenal and, controversially, rivals Lyon to keep hold of Ribery.
That decision paid off for OM. In his final campaign in France, in 2006-07, Ribery provided eight assists, behind only Nancy's Benjamin Gavanon (nine), and had the highest tally of chances created per 90 minutes (2.95) among players who had featured for over 100 minutes across the season.
Marseille finished second, after losing in the final of the Coupe de France, and Ribery was named the French Player of the Year by France Football.
Flourishing for France
Ribery made his debut for Les Bleus in May 2006, ahead of the World Cup in Germany, where he truly made his name as a superstar.
Between making his debut and playing his final international match in March 2014, Ribery featured in more France games than any other player (81) in the same period, 11 ahead of second-ranked Florent Malouda.
Indeed, his 37 goal involvements (16 goals, 21 assists) was more than any other French player, and puts him sixth on the nation's goal involvements list in the 21st century.
He helped France reach the final of the 2006 World Cup, though they failed to make it out of the group stage in South Africa four years later, while success also eluded them in the Euros during Ribery's stint on the international stage.
Greatness in Germany
In 2007, Bayern paid Marseille €25million for the 24-year-old. It was an investment worth every cent.
Ribery went on to play 425 times for Bayern in all competitions, making him the non-German player with the second-most appearances for the club, behind David Alaba (431), since 1965.
When it comes to French players, only Jonathan Schmid has made more Bundesliga appearances (296) than Ribery (273), who scored 124 goals in all competitions for Bayern.
Since detailed data collection of the Bundesliga began in 2004, Thomas Muller is the only player to provide more assists than Ribery, who set up 92 goals.
Ribery was at the peak of his powers in the 2012-13 season, as he helped Bayern win the treble and was named UEFA Men's Player of the Year, before going on to come third in the Ballon d'Or rankings.
That season, he provided 14 assists in the Bundesliga, a total trailing only Andres Iniesta (16) when it came to players in Europe's big five leagues.
Ribery left Bayern as a club great, having formed one of the all-time most fearsome wing partnerships with Arjen Robben. He won nine Bundesliga titles, a tally that trails only former club-mates Alaba and Robert Lewandowski (10 each) when it comes to foreign players in Germany's top tier.
Italian swansong
After leaving Bayern, Ribery tried his hand in Italy, joining Fiorentina.
Over his two seasons in Florence, Ribery created 70 goalscoring opportunities in Serie A, behind only Erick Pulgar (104) in Fiorentina's squad. His dribbling ability was still top class, too, with Gaetano Castrovilli his only team-mate to complete more dribbles (123 to Ribery's 117).
Ribery played 51 times for Fiorentina in all competitions, starting on 47 occasions. He scored five goals, contributed nine assists and had 182 touches in the opposition's box. Surprisingly, he played only five successful crosses, though he was often deployed in a more central role for La Viola.
In his 25 matches for Salernitana, Ribery failed to score, though his three assists in Serie A mean he is the club's joint-top creator of goals, alongside Milan Djuric and Pasquale Mazzocchi, in the same timeframe.
Kris Doolan insists Partick Thistle will not sit back in second leg
Kris Doolan insists Partick Thistle will go for goals again in their cinch Premiership play-off final second leg after their 2-0 win over 10-man Ross County at Firhill.
Jags winger Aidan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring in the ninth minute before 16-year-old Staggies defender Dylan Smith was sent off by referee David Munro eight minutes later for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, after the official upgraded a yellow card to red following the intervention of the VAR Andrew Dallas.
Striker Brian Graham volleyed in a second for the Championship outfit just before the break to give them the advantage for the return game in Dingwall.
Boss Doolan said: “It was a brilliant win for us – but it could have been more.
“If you’d offered us 2-0 before the game, we would obviously have taken your hand off. But it could have been more. To me, it maybe should have been more.
“Part of that is down to Ross County defending well and throwing their bodies on the line.
“Their goalie also made a good save at the end to tip one on to the bar. If we had managed to get a third, it might well have been a different game.
“But we know it’s not over. There’s still another game to be played on Sunday. We only have one way of playing – and we will go out and look to do the same in Dingwall.
“We know that if we can go there and win the game, we will be back in the Premiership.”
Staggies boss Malky Mackay was happy to leave Glasgow only two goals down and retains belief for the second leg.
He said: “We started fairly brightly and created a couple of half chances.
“But we lost a bad goal. It was a great strike from Fitzpatrick but poor defending from our lads that were out facing it.
“I thought we were doing okay at that point but then we lost young Dylan.
“He’s a great kid and has been terrific in his first season as a pro but in retrospect he’s nicked the boy and it was a sending off.
“That obviously gives us a mountain to climb.
“We then lose the goal just before half-time and when I got the boys back inside, I said to them the challenge was to make sure we come out here no worse than two-down.
“I didn’t want us to sink in to our own penalty box as that would have just been carnage. So to see us threaten them a few times was what I needed.
“Second half I was really proud of them and at only two-down, there is plenty to play for on Sunday.”
Partick Thistle hold upper hand after first-leg victory over Ross County
Partick Thistle are in the box seat for a return to the cinch Premiership following their 2-0 play-off final first leg win over 10-man Ross County at Firhill.
Jags winger Aidan Fitzpatrick opened the scoring in the ninth minute with a terrific strike before 16-year-old Staggies defender Dylan Smith was sent off by referee David Munro eight minutes later for denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity, after the official upgraded a yellow card to red following the intervention of the VAR Andrew Dallas.
In front of 7,291 fans, Thistle’s 35-year-old striker Brian Graham volleyed in a second for the Championship outfit just before the break to take his season tally to 21 and the home side could and should have scored more against a team a man down for most of the game.
However, Kris Doolan’s inventive side – now unbeaten in 11 games – will travel to Dingwall for the second leg on Sunday, buoyed with confidence while Malky Mackay’s men must dig deep if they are to retain their top-flight status.
Thistle, the first club to reach a Premiership play-off final after finishing fourth in the second tier, exploded into the game.
Winger Steve Lawless’s drive after skipping past Smith was saved by Staggies keeper Ross Laidlaw for a corner which he held.
However, the home side were soon ahead.
Fitzpatrick took a crossfield pass from Lawless, nipped in between Victor Loturi and Owura Edwards and from 16 yards curled the ball past Laidlaw into the far corner of the net before taking the acclaim of the fans.
More drama followed.
Smith was initially booked by Munro for fouling Fitzpatrick on the edge of the box as he attempted to race through on goal.
However, after going off to check the pitch side monitor – VAR was in operation for the first time at Firhill – the referee returned to flash a red and the visitors were down to 10 men, with defender Keith Watson immediately coming on for striker Alex Samuel before skipper Ross Docherty lifted the free-kick well over the bar.
In the 34th minute Graham connected with a Kyle Turner corner but Laidlaw was down smartly to save.
County edged forward as often as they could but they appeared susceptible to losing a second, with Graham thundering a drive over from the edge of the box.
The former Ross County and Dundee United forward was much more accurate from another Turner corner, volleying in from 12 yards to send the Glasgow side into the break on a high.
Ben Purrington replaced George Harmon, who had been booked, for the start of the second half as the Dingwall side looked to keep themselves in the tie but within minutes Thistle’s Kevin Holt had volleyed over the Staggies crossbar from eight yards.
Thistle then swarmed all over the visitors and should have added to their lead.
Graham had a goal-bound drive blocked for a corner by centre-back Jack Randall before Scott Tiffoney also saw his effort from inside the box hit County defender Connor Randall and then Laidlaw somehow kept out a close-range header from Graham.
County hinted at a threat occasionally and in the 64th minute Jags defender Aaron Muirhead brilliantly blocked a shot from Staggies forward Jordan White.
The Dingwall side pushed for a lifeline which never arrived, the home side finishing in control with substitute Danny Mullen cracking the bar with a powerful drive and they will surely travel to Dingwall on Sunday more in belief than hope.
JFF names provisional 50-man squad for Concacaf Gold Cup
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) named a strong 50-man provisional squad for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup scheduled for June 24-July 16 in Canada and the United States.
The big names in the squad are regulars Leon Bailey, Michail Antonio as well as newcomer Demarai Gray.
Amari’i Bell, who helped Luton Town advance to the Premier League over the weekend, is also among the names in contention for the final 23-man squad.
The full squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Amal Knight (Lexington SC), Andre Blake (Philadelphia Union), Coniah Boyce-Clarke (Reading), Corey Addai (Crawley Town), Jahmali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), Kemar Foster (Waterhouse FC)
Defenders: Adrian Mariappa (Salford City), Alvas Powell (FC Cincinnati), Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Damion Lowe (Philadelphia Union), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Dishon Bernard (Portsmouth FC), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford FC), Fitzroy Cummings (Vere United), Gregory Leigh (Ipswich Town), Ian Fray (Inter Miami), Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps), Joel Latibeaudiere (Swansea City), Kemar Lawrence (Minnesota United), Luke Badley-Morgan (Stoke City), Oshane Stape (Harbour View), Ricardo Thomas (Dunbeholden), Richard King (IBV), Wesley Harding (Rotherham United)
Midfielders: Bobby Reid (Fulham), Daniel Johnson (Preston North End), Delano Splatt (Fulham), Demario Phillips (Mount Pleasant), Devon Williams (Colorado Switchback), Jonathan Russell (Barnsley), Kevon Lambert (Phoenix Rising), Lamar Walker (Portmore United), Michael Hector (Charlton Athletic), Omari Hutchinson (Chelsea), Ravel Morrison (DC United)
Attackers: Atapharoy Bygrave (Mount Pleasant), Collin Anderson (Cavalier SC), Cory Burke (NY Red Bulls), Daniel Green (Ho Chi Minh City), Demarai Gray (Everton), Dujuan Richards (Phoenix Academy), Jamal Lowe (Queens Park Rangers), Junior Flemmings (Toulouse), Kaheem Parris (Dynamo Kyiv), Kemar Roofe (Rangers), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa), Michail Antonio (West Ham United), Renaldo Cephas (KF Schkupi), Shamar Nicholson (Spartak Moscow), Trivante Stewart (Mount Pleasant)
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