Ribery mocks Ronaldo

Former midfielder Franck Ribery has once again caused a stir by criticizing Cristiano Ronaldo in the never-ending debate about the fairness of the Ballon d'Or.

Ribery competed with Messi and Ronaldo 12 years ago.

After Ronaldo claimed that winning the Champions League could be a key factor in winning the Ballon d'Or, Ribery responded on his personal page with a sarcastic question: "So when you win the Ballon d'Or, do you have to win the Champions League?", accompanied by three smiley emojis.

This statement echoes Ribery's regrets over the years. Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport earlier this year, the former Bayern star frankly said: "It's not fair. They extended the voting period and something strange happened. I feel it was a choice that went beyond the boundaries of football."

Meanwhile, Ronaldo also seems to be less interested in individual awards. He emphasized that he "knows what happens behind the scenes", showing skepticism about the transparency of the vote.

Ribery finished third in the 2013 Ballon d'Or race after a brilliant season with Bayern Munich, winning the treble of Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League. However, he lost the award to Ronaldo.

In 2013, Ribery led the way in terms of votes from journalists. However, that year's award added two additional categories, voted by national team captains and coaches. With his superb individual performance (69 goals, 15 assists) in 59 matches, Ronaldo overwhelmed both Lionel Messi (45 goals, 16 assists) and Ribery (23 goals, 20 assists) in these two voting categories, even though he did not win any titles.

Source: https://znews.vn/ribery-mia-mai-ronaldo-post1559084.html