Ribery on why he's retiring

Frank Ribery did not choose to retire, he had to. The legendary ex-Fiorentina, Bayern Munich and others played his last game for Salernitana against Spezia. Speaking about the tie, he had an interview with 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' to talk about the pain which led him to hang up his boots.

"Throughout the last week, I've had a chance to think about it a bit more, but the reality is that I am not prepared for it... Three months ago I felt fine. I had a good preseason, then came the first knee problems after July... In the first game against Roma, I was playing in pain", he said.

"I'm not a fragile person, but, for three days I couldn't move. The doctors said it was very serious. I tried to get better. I couldn't believe they had told me to stop. I wanted to be the one to call time, but my knee said enough's enough", he added. He did not refrain from bigging himself up either: "Have I been one of the best five in the world? Of course".

"Florence is like Salerno because the fans live for football there too. It's a beautiful city, full of tourists from everywhere. In terms of where I've ended it, it is what it is, but Fiorentina was a great experience. It was a shame to play almost a year without fans because of COVID-19, but the fans still loved me: I am always someone who leave the pitch with my shirt soaked in sweat", he also mentioned.