I owe you nothing! – Ribery slams 'jealous haters' after steak post
Franck Ribery accused his critics of being "jealous haters" as he defended a social media post in which he posed with a gold-coated steak.
The Bayern Munich winger, who is set to leave the Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, uploaded a video to his Instagram page earlier this week as he visited Turkish chef Nusret Gokce.
Internet phenomenon Gokce, nicknamed Salt Bae, could be seen slicing up a gold-coated steak before Ribery sprinkled salt over the meat in his accomplice's trademark manner.
Ribery captioned the video: "No better way than to start the year than with a dash of salt and a visit to my Turkish brother."
But the post drew criticism from several of the former France international's social media followers, with the meat said to be worth €1,200.
Ribery responded on Saturday, posting a lengthy message on his Instagram story, which was copied to his Twitter page.
"For 2019, let's dot the 'i's and cross the 't's," he wrote.
pic.twitter.com/TEQb6VTpSR
— Franck Ribéry (@FranckRibery) January 5, 2019
"Let's start with the jealous, the haters, those clearly born from a condom with a hole in: **** your mothers, your grandmothers and even your family tree.
"I owe you nothing. My success is above all thanks to God, thanks to myself and thanks to my loved ones, who believed in me. The others are nothing more than pebbles in my socks."
He continued: "Next, about those pseudo-journalists, who have always been critical of me and my actions (the latest example being the price of what I eat): when I give – because I was taught to give when I receive a lot – why do the national media not discuss this?
"No, you prefer to talk about the holidays I have with my family, you monitor my actions, what I eat, etc. Oh yes, you're here for that kind of futility."
Ribery has played 14 times in the Bundesliga this season, starting nine matches, and has scored four goals.
The 35-year-old apologised to a journalist earlier this campaign following an altercation after Bayern's dramatic 3-2 defeat to league leaders Borussia Dortmund.