“Why Turkey and Galatasaray? I don’t know!”

At the beginning of 2004, this Frenchman was still a noble unknown in football. Six months after his professional debut with FC Metz, he was already moving to Galatasaray. The “Chti” would only be active there for a short period. Afterwards, his career took off.

Franck Ribéry is best known for his outstanding years with Olympique de Marseille, his ups and downs with France, and his successful passage at Bayern Munich. But did you know he also played football for Galatasaray for a few months?

An unlikely transfer

Ribéry had taken his first steps in the Ligue 1 in 2004 with FC Metz, which had plucked him away from French third-tier side Stade Brest. Ribéry was immediately regarded as one of the revelations in the French first division and in August 2004 he was even ‘Player of the Month’. He made more and more of a name for himself and at 21, his name was increasingly mentioned with France’s national team.

Barely six months after his Ligue 1 debut, surprising news came out: Galatasaray announced Ribéry’s arrival. The French talent had also previously been discredited over a brawl in a nightclub. Instead of a contract extension, a transfer to Galatasaray suddenly followed, paying €1.5 million and spending €800,000 signing bonus on Ribéry.

Public favourite

The flank striker adapted extremely quickly to his new surroundings. The fans immediately embraced him and soon had a nickname: ‘Ferraribéry’. This was because of his speed. So the fans loved him immediately and that love only increased when he scored the opening goal in the Turkish Cup final against great rival Fenerbahçe. Galatasaray won 5-1 and afterwards it turned out to be his only goal for the Turks.

Indeed, the marriage soon broke down. Ribéry played 17 matches for Galatasaray and after the club failed to pay his wages for several months, he broke his contract and returned to France for free. Galatasaray did not leave it at that and the Turks filed a lawsuit for wrongful breach of contract. However, FIFA ruled in the player’s favour and Jean Fernandez, his former coach at FC Metz, brought him to Marseille. He became the best player in the French league there and in 2006 he was called up by Raymond Domenech for the World Cup in Germany. It was the start of a wonderful career.