Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has finally opened up about those facial scars that he suffered as a child.
The former France international has recently spoken about the trauma from his childhood and how the injuries gave him “strength” and “character” during his long-standing career.
Ribery was involved in a car accident at the age of just two, in which he suffered a serious head wound. The Frenchman wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, meaning the crash sent him through the vehicle’s windshield.
The former Champions League winner was rushed to hospital and immediately required 100 stitches following the incident in his hometown of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Throughout his childhood people would often make fun of his scars from the horrific ordeal, but recently speaking to Canal+ Sport, he outlined how he turned this into a positive.
“People would say: ‘Look what he has on his face, look at his head. What is this scar? It’s so ugly.’ Wherever I went, people would look at me,” Ribery stated.
“And not because I was a good person or because my name is Franck or was a good footballer, but because of the scar.
“They gave me character and this strength. Because, when you are a child and you have a scar like this, it’s not easy. The way people see you, the comments – my family suffered for this.
“The people who talk about you are the parents (of other children), and this is very cruel. I never went to a corner and cried, despite suffering.“
The now 34-year-old also claimed how the crash at such a young age motivated him.
“The problem was that I was sitting in the back and I went flying forward on impact. In a certain way this accident helped me. As a child, it motivated me,” he added.
“God gave me this difference. The scars are part of me, and people will just have to take me the way I am.”
Ribery’s attitude towards such a heartbreaking childhood incident must be applauded, along with the way in which he has dealt with the subsequent abuse during his football career.
