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Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery believes his career as a professional footballer has helped to save him from poverty and unemployment. The Frenchman grew up in difficult circumstances in Boulogne-sur-Mer in a low-income suburb of the city, before the opportunity to join the Lille academy and then the Boulogne senior side offered him an escape route into football. Ribery has gone on to enjoy a stellar career as arguably one of France's greatest modern players, but the 30-year-old insists he will never forget a past which helped to shame him as a professional.