Corentin Tolisso dedicates gold steak to “big brother” Franck Ribery

“It’s for you big brother,” Corentin Tolisso wrote in one of his latest Instagram stories. He was pictured being served gold encrusted steak by none other than Salt Bae, founder of Nusr-Et, the opulent steakhouse chain famous for its decadent dishes and diners.

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• Corentin Tolisso is served gold-plated steak by Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe) at his restaurant, Nusr-Et, on the island of Mykonos, Greece. instagram.com/corentintolisso/
• Corentin Tolisso is served gold-plated steak by Salt Bae (Nusret Gökçe) at his restaurant, Nusr-Et, on the island of Mykonos, Greece. instagram.com/corentintolisso

The “big brother” in question was, of course, Tolisso’s Bayern Munich teammate and compatriot, Franck Ribery.

Ribery had provided for perhaps the strangest scandal of the year when he posted a video of himself enjoying a gold-encrusted ribeye served by Salt Bae. After French media in particular attacked the star for his luxurious meal, Ribery responded with an epic, profanity-laced commentary of his own on his hypocritical critics.

That, however, set the German faux-outrage machine in motion, spearheaded by Bild. It is astounding, in hindsight, to read over the absurd calls for action that various sports journalists and pundits made at the time. “Only Jürgen Klopp can save Bayern now,” Raimond Hinko claimed in his headline, as the team was supposedly “overwhelmed completely by surprise by the Franck Ribéry affair, as if a tsunami had washed you away in the training camp in Qatar.” (The logic of that connection has not improved with time.)

Another Bild author argued Bayern’s failure to fire Ribery immediately was a sign of “moral bankruptcy,” and yet another called Ribery a “threat to soccer.” And of course 75% of Bild’s readers demanded Ribery’s dismissal. Raimond Hinko’s subsequent op/ed to the German national team took the cake, though. In Hinko’s opinion, Steakgate “threatens to succeed the Mesut Özil affair. Only everything is much worse.”

In the end, though, Ribery was quietly fined by the club for his little tantrum, and the world moved on. But brace yourselves now for the coming storm. Surely, no one will let Tolisso eat his own gold steak scot-free!

Take a stroll down memory lane with our Steakgate coverage: