Franck Ribéry baffled by Ballon d'Or snub
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France and Bayern Munich star Franck Ribéry has spoken of his frustration at being overlooked for the 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
The 30-year-old finished third in the voting for the FIFA prize this year, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
And an aggrieved Ribéry was left wondering how he could be overlooked after all the success he had last season.
Ribéry helped Bayern win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2013, while Ronaldo's 66 goals in 56 appearances for Real Madrid failed to win them a single trophy.
"I won everything I could win with Bayern and individually. Ronaldo on the other hand did not win anything," Ribéry told the Abendzeitung.
"I am not sad that I missed out, but it does hurt a bit. I deserved to win the Ballon d'Or.
"It was clear that Ronaldo would win it. The voting deadline was extended by two weeks. This had never happened before. It wasn't about football. It was a political decision."
The Frenchman then went on to criticise the FIFA World XI which consisted of six players who ply their trade in Spain, while Germany only had three, despite the fact that Bayern and Borussia Dortmund contested the Champions League final.
He added: "There are only three Bayern players in there. That's madness. (Thomas) Müller deserves to be there, and so do (David) Alaba, (Bastian) Schweinsteiger, and (Arjen) Robben. We won five titles and made history.
"And then there's the absence of Borussia Dortmund players. Where are (Mario) Götze and (Robert) Lewandowski? This is impossible.
"I'm sure, if Barcelona and Real Madrid stood in the Champions League final, the team would consist only of players of Real and Barça."
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| Franck Ribéry feels he deserved to win Ballon d'Or following his successful 2013 with Bayern Munich Photo: Reuters |
The 30-year-old finished third in the voting for the FIFA prize this year, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
And an aggrieved Ribéry was left wondering how he could be overlooked after all the success he had last season.
Ribéry helped Bayern win the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in 2013, while Ronaldo's 66 goals in 56 appearances for Real Madrid failed to win them a single trophy.
"I won everything I could win with Bayern and individually. Ronaldo on the other hand did not win anything," Ribéry told the Abendzeitung.
"I am not sad that I missed out, but it does hurt a bit. I deserved to win the Ballon d'Or.
"It was clear that Ronaldo would win it. The voting deadline was extended by two weeks. This had never happened before. It wasn't about football. It was a political decision."
The Frenchman then went on to criticise the FIFA World XI which consisted of six players who ply their trade in Spain, while Germany only had three, despite the fact that Bayern and Borussia Dortmund contested the Champions League final.
He added: "There are only three Bayern players in there. That's madness. (Thomas) Müller deserves to be there, and so do (David) Alaba, (Bastian) Schweinsteiger, and (Arjen) Robben. We won five titles and made history.
"And then there's the absence of Borussia Dortmund players. Where are (Mario) Götze and (Robert) Lewandowski? This is impossible.
"I'm sure, if Barcelona and Real Madrid stood in the Champions League final, the team would consist only of players of Real and Barça."
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