Moving message from Arjen Robben to Franck Ribéry

Arjen Robben sent his former strike partner Franck Ribéry moving news at the end of his career. “It was and will always be an honor for me to be part of Robbery,” wrote the Dutchman on Instagram and thanked him for the time we spent together at Bayern Munich.

Ribéry can be “really proud of what has been achieved”, wrote the 2013 Champions League winner: “It was always a great pleasure with you on and off the pitch!”

At Bayern, the duo celebrated seven German championships, four DFB Cup victories, five victories in the DFL Supercup as well as winning the UEFA Supercup and the World Cup in addition to the title in the premier class.

Ribéry scored 124 goals in 425 appearances for the record champions and prepared 182 more. In the 2013 Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund, the Frenchman set up Robben’s winning goal with a back heel.

At the weekend, the 39-year-old finished the day with a lap of honor in US Salernitana’s 1-0 win over Spezia Calcio to thunderous applause from the crowd.

“I would have liked a different ending,” Ribéry said. On Friday he explained in a two-minute video that his knee pain had gotten worse “despite all my efforts” in recent months and that there was no other way than to end his playing career.