Franck Ribery has opened up about the facial scars that gave him 'character' and 'strength' throughout his career in football.

The 34-year-old has spoken publicly about the trauma in years gone by and in an emotional interview with Canal+ Sport, the player has revealed how he dealt with the pain from childhood.

If you haven't heard the story before, Ribery suffered a serious head wound in a car accident at the age of two. He was rushed to hospital and required 100 stitches after the crash in his hometown of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

According to Yahoo, Ribery wasn't wearing a seat belt, which sent him crashing through the vehicle's windshield.

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Ribery

Throughout his childhood people would stare and point at Ribery in the street, saying how 'ugly' the scars were, but as mentioned earlier the Frenchman turned it into a positive.

"People would say: 'Look what he has on his face, look at his head. What is this scar? It's so ugly.' Wherever I went, people would look at me." he told Canal+ Sport.

"And not because I was a good person or because my name is Franck or was a good footballer, but because of the scar.

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Fastest players on FIFA revealed:

"They gave me character and this strength. Because, when you are a child and you have a scar like this, it's not easy. The way people see you, the comments - my family suffered for this.

The people who talk about you are the parents (of other children), and this is very cruel. I never went to a corner and cried, despite suffering."

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Franck Ribéry: "Being a kid and having a scar like I do is not easy. People look at you, criticize... my family suffered that. But my scar was what gave me strength and character." pic.twitter.com/OZwnRVz8Q6

- Juan G. Arango (@JuanG_Arango) January 16, 2018



Ribery also claimed in Simon Kuper's book The Football Men: Up Close with the Giants of the Modern Game, that the incident motivated him at a young age:

"The problem was that I was sitting in the back and I went flying forward on impact. In a certain way this accident helped me. As a child, it motivated me." Ribery said.