Bayern Munich Announce Franck Ribery Will Leave Club at End of Season

Bayern Munich announced on Sunday that longtime winger Franck Ribery will not sign a new contract and will instead leave the Bundesliga club at the end of the season.

The German champions took to Twitter to share the news:

Per Goal's Ronan Murphy, Ribery said he wants to continue playing but has no firm plans for his future:

The 36-year-old has represented the club since 2007, amassing an impressive collection of silverware. He won the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League with the Bavarians, as well as eight Bundesliga titles, and could add a ninth this season.

With two matches left to play, Bayern lead Borussia Dortmund by four points. A win over RB Leipzig on Saturday will seal the deal for the Bavarians.

Ribery is also a three-time French Player of the Year winner, and he became the first to hold that distinction and the German Footballer of the Year at the same time, doing so in 2008. He finished in third place in the Ballon d'Or race in 2013, and per Bleacher Report's Alex McGovern, he would have won under the current criteria:

International success eluded Ribery, who took second place with France at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and retired from Les Bleus in 2014.

Even at the age of 36, Ribery has played regularly for Bayern this season, making 23 total appearances in the Bundesliga. He will likely have plenty of options as a free agent, whether it's in Europe or a league like MLS.

He's not the only longtime Bayern winger who will leave the club this summer, with Arjen Robben also headed for the exit door:

Bayern brought in Alphonso Davies in January and also have Kingsley Coman and Serge Gnabry in the squad. But with two longtime stars leaving, they are likely to spend big on another star winger in the summer.

Lille's Nicolas Pepe has been frequently mentioned as a target, and while his agent, Samir Khiat, recently told RTL there are no favourites for his signature (h/t Mirror's Alex Smith), Bayern was the only club he mentioned by name.