Many believe that Franck Ribéry was greatly wronged in 2013 after winning the Ballon d’Or, despite winning the historic treble with Bayern Munich. However, in the end, the choices favored the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo.
That season, Ribéry won the Bundesliga and the German Cup, and was a key factor in Bayern Munich’s first Champions League title in over 10 years.
On the other hand, Ronaldo only won the Spanish league title with Real Madrid in 2012-13. Then, the strange thing happened: the voting was extended. At that moment, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Portugal in Sweden, leading his country to qualify for the World Cup, and things changed completely.
After many years, it seems that Ronaldo did Ribéry justice despite everything, and unintentionally!
Ronaldo considers the Ballon d’Or criteria unfair!
During the Portugal-Spain UEFA Nations League final, Ronaldo was asked about his favorite to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or, and he responded by giving Ribéry his due.
Ronaldo said, “There is no clear standard by which to say that this or that player deserves to win the Ballon d’Or, so I think individual awards have lost some of their true meaning.”
He added, “For me, the one who should win it is the one who excels and wins the Champions League. That’s my point of view.”
He continued, “I can’t say who deserves it or not, because I no longer believe much in individual awards, because I know what happens behind the scenes.”
In Ronaldo’s words: Ribéry deserved the 2013 Ballon d’Or
In 2013, Ribéry led Bayern Munich to the Champions League title, contributing five assists and scoring another in 12 appearances in the competition.
On the other hand, Ronaldo reached the semi-finals with Real Madrid, where they were eliminated by Borussia Dortmund.
Given Ronaldo’s statement, Ribéry was certainly deserving of the 2013 Ballon d’Or, having excelled and helped his team win the Champions League, as well as achieving other domestic successes.
Strangely, Ribéry even came in third place in the 2013 Ballon d’Or vote, with Ronaldo in first place and Lionel Messi, despite his extremely disappointing season at the time, in second place.
