Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich Agree on New Contract: Latest Details and Reaction

Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has signed a one-year contract extension at the Allianz Arena to take him into his 11th season at the club.Ribery's old contract was due to expire at the end of this season, but Bayern released a statement via the club's official website on Sunday confirming the Frenchman has prolonged his stay at the Allianz. In it, chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said:Six German championship titles, five cup triumphs, the Champions League, the FIFA Club World Cup, the UEFA Supercup: FC Bayern's biggest triumphs in the last few years are closely linked with Franck Ribery. He's both a key player and a crowd-pleaser, so we're happy we've extended the contract with Franck by another year.Ribery, 33, arrived in Bavaria from Ligue 1 outfit Marseille in 2007 and has gone on to enjoy plenty of success with Der FCB, although this latest extension looks likely to be his last at Bayern.The statement also provided quotes from Ribery himself, who was pleased to be extending his Bayern Munich career for another campaign:I'm very happy to play for FC Bayern for another year. This great club and the city have become my home, both in terms of sportand in private. I'm looking forward to many more beautiful moments together with the FC Bayern fans, and I want to play my part in the team's success in the next one and a half years.The extension also means Ribery will be 35 years of age by the time his contract comes to its end, having found something of a second home with Germany's most successful outfit.The veteran wide man may no longer represent the same force on the pitch as he did upon his arrival in the Bundesliga, but OptaFranz recently pointed out he's still an influential figure:Ribery has made a total of 333 appearances for Der FCB, per the club statement, scoring 108 goals and assisting another 164 across all competitions, equal to having a direct hand in a goal every 1.22 matches.OptaJean illustrated the forward's long-term impact on Germany's top flight, with no other player quite rivalling his creative potency over the last decade:Injuries have come to plague Ribery in recent years, however, and Bayern have shown their reluctance to put faith in the ageing star's fitness with a one-year deal, particularly as he's already missed eight games this season.Ribery will hope to add to an already bulging trophy cabinet over the course of the next 18 months, which could well be his last at Bayern Munich.
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