FILES) In this file photo taken on October 06, 2018 Bayern Munich's French midfielder Franck Ribery reacts during the warm up prior to the German first division Bundesliga football match FC Bayern Munich vs Borussia Moenchengladbach in Munich, southern Germany. Bayern Munich hands "heavy fine" after he appeared to respond to social media criticism with a string of irate and abusive posts on Instagram and Twitter on January 5, 2019. Christof STACHE / AFP
French winger Franck Ribery arrived in Italy on Wednesday to complete a medical ahead of signing a two-year contract with Serie A club Fiorentina.
“Welcome legend,” the Tuscany club wrote on Twitter with a photo of the 36-year-old wearing the club’s purple colours and holding a Fiorentina scarf.
The former French international has left Bayern Munich as a free agent after 12 seasons with the German giants during which he won 23 trophies.
Ribery’s new deal was rubber-stamped late Tuesday and the veteran winger will undergo a medical before his presentation on Thursday.
Both Ribery and his wife Wahiba posted photos on social media on Wednesday on board a private jet, and were greeted by hundreds of fans on their arrival.
The French player said that former Bayern forward Luca Toni had convinced him to move to Italy.
“I’m happy, I’m here with my family,” said Ribery.
“I talked for a week with Fiorentina. I also spoke with Luca Toni. He told me that Fiorentina is a great club and the city is beautiful.
“And I also like Italian and I speak it a bit even though I have to improve. Thank you all.”
Ribery has reportedly agreed a two-year deal worth between 4 million and 4.5 million euros ($4.4m-$4.9m) plus bonuses.
Ribery won nine Bundesliga titles and the Champions League with Bayern after he joined the club from French side Marseille in 2007.
He also previously played for Turkish club Galatasary and French clubs Brest and Metz.
Fiorentina finished 16th in Serie A last season and open their campaign at home against Napoli on Saturday.
The club changed ownership last June with Italian-American media magnate Rocco Commisso completing a 170 million euros ($190 million) takeover.
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