Franck Ribery is one of the most talented footballers of the last decade.When you think of players who would have won the Ballon d'Or if it wasn't for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's era of dominance then the French winger is often one of the first names on the list.In fact, even in a world where Messi and Ronaldo were setting the beautiful game alight, there's good reason to think that Ribery was the best player in the world with Bayern Munich in 2013.
The Ballon d'Or winner that never was
According to ESPN, Ribery even said himself during an interview with French television: "It was a difficult period, it was incomprehensible. I had won every trophy, I couldn't have done more.
"For me, it was like a robbery, an injustice. I didn't have my whole country behind me. I saw with my own eyes French people who wanted Cristiano to win.
"Did the Portuguese want Ribery or Messi to win? Impossible. Do you think in Argentina they wanted Ribery or Ronaldo to win? Impossible."
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Ribery thriving with Fiorentina
However, while Ribery's career might not have been decorated with the Ballon d'Or trophy that it deserved, anyone who ever watched him play will be acutely aware of his world-class ability.
And although the halcyon days at the Allianz Arena might be long gone, make no mistake that Ribery is still spreading his magic at Fiorentina despite recently celebrating his 38th birthday.
One would imagine that a player who channelled incredible speed, agility and elasticity might have struggled as they aged, but Ribery has laughed at that very myth during the recent Napoli clash.
Ribery's stunning dribble vs Napoli
That's because Ribery came within a defender's block of scoring arguably the finest goal of his career, showing some of the best dribbling that you'll see anywhere in Europe this season.
With Fiorentina trailing 1-0 going into the 58th minute, Ribery embarked on an astonishing sequence where he managed to evade four opponents despite playing in incredibly tight spots.
It really does have to be seen to be appreciated, so check out Ribery's stunning close control below:
Imagine being that good at 38 years old. What is your secret, Franck?
Channelling his Bayern Munich years
While Ribery might have been unable to provide the finishing touch for what would have been a mind-blowing solo effort, there's no denying that the fantastic dribbling underlines his star quality.
It's not for no reason that a club of Fiorentina's prestige has fielded the French veteran on no less than 49 occasions since he waved goodbye to Bayern at the end of the 2018/19 campaign.
And make no mistake that Ribery's slalom at the Artemio Franchi Stadium wasn't the first time that he'd taken us all back to his 2013 days because his Fiorentina career has been littered with brilliance.
We're not sure he'll ever top his masterclass against Inter Milan at the start of the season, but making half the Napoli team look like training cones was a pretty good effort.