Fiorentina Officially Confirm Franck Ribery Signing Ahead of Thursday Unveiling

Fiorentina have officially confirmed the signing of Franck Ribery on a free transfer, following the Frenchman's summer departure from Bayern Munich. 

Ribery left Bayern upon the expiration of his contract, following a 12-year spell in which he won 18 major trophies, including nine Bundesliga titles and one ​Champions League.

The winger, who is now 36 years old, is expected to sign a two-year deal with La Viola, earning around £3.6m per season. 

Ribery arrived in Italy on Wednesday morning, ahead of undergoing a medical and completing the final touches to his new contract, and the Serie A side have now confirmed the signing with a statement on their official website.

In it, they explained: "AFC Fiorentina announces the signing of player Franck Ribéry. The new purple footballer will be presented tomorrow, Thursday 22 August, at 5.30 pm in the Manuela Righini press room of the Artemio Franchi Stadium.

"At the meeting with the media, for logistical reasons, only 1 journalist per head may be admitted. We invite interested newspapers to attend the press conference to send a request for accreditation by 1:00 pm on Thursday.

"Starting from 20:00 the Artemio Franchi Stadium will open the gates of the Tribune to the purple fans to give everyone the chance to greet the new purple football player."

A hoard of Fiorentina fans were there to meet Ribery at the airport upon his arrival in Florence, and in his first interview, the wideman declared: "I'm happy and happy. I'm here with the family, come on: let's do something all together.

"I've already talked a week with the people of Fiorentina, I talked to Luca Toni and he told me that Fiorentina is a great club and that the city is beautiful. I like the city and I already know Italian: it's not perfect but it's good. The fans? I expect great affection for all."