Franck Ribery fined by Bayern Munich after foul-mouthed Twitter outburst over £1,000 gold-covered steak
Bayern Munich have hit Franck Ribery with a “heavy fine” following his foul-mouthed Twitter outburst, having been widely criticised for showing off a £1,000 steak covered in gold leaf.
The Frenchman posted a furious message on social media in the wake of criticism of his initial picture, which was taken at the Nusr-et restaurant in Dubai owned by Nusret Gokce, better known as ‘Salt Bae’.
After being criticised for ordering the expensive gold-covered steak, Ribery wrote: “For 2019, let’s dot the i’s and cross the t’s... Let’s start with the jealous, the haters, those only born because a condom had a hole in: f*** your mothers, your grandmothers and even your family tree. I owe you nothing.
"My success is, above all, thanks to God, me, and my loved ones who believed in me. For the others, you’re nothing but pebbles in my socks!”
Ribery has been widely condemned for his astonishing outburst, and the club have confirmed that he has been handed a “heavy fine” for his social media comments.
Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic spoke to reporters on Sunday at their Doha training camp, where he said: “He has used words that we as FC Bayern Munich cannot accept and Franck can never use as a role model and as a player of Bayern.
"I talked to Franck for a long time yesterday and also told him he was fined, and he accepted the sentence."
Salihamidzic refused to confirm how big the fine was, but added that the fee was “very high”.
Bayern also issued a club statement to confirm that while the steak is valued at $1,200 (£942), Ribery had not paid for it as the event had been set-up as an advertising campaign.
Bayern are in the process of identifying replacements for Ribery and fellow veteran Arjen Robben for this summer's impending rebuild. Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea and Timo Werner of RB Leipzig are both players being pursued as Germany's biggest club prepare for a busy off-season rejuvenating their ageing squad.
