Summary
Franck Ribery believed he should have won the 2013 Ballon d’Or over Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Frenchman had an excellent 2013, winning five titles in total.
Ribery still remembers the disappointment of not winning that year.
After Kaka won the Ballon d’Or in 2007, it took another 11 years for someone other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win it. Luka Modric won it in 2018. However, there was one player who felt aggrieved that they did not win it during that time period, with former France international Franck Ribery claiming something unusual happened when it was revealed that Ronaldo, not Ribery, had won the 2013 prize. Ribery was a tremendously significant left winger for Bayern Munich at the time, winning an unprecedented treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup, and Champions League.
Ribery was poised to win the 2013 Ballon d’Or.
The former France international is still baffled about why he didn’t
Regarding his apparent injustice, Ribery said La Gazzetta dello Sport:
“It wasn’t fair. I had an amazing season and deserved to win it. They prolonged the voting period, and something strange happened. “I felt it was a political decision.”
The voting deadline was set for November 15, 2013, however FIFA extended the tournament until November 29, citing that too many voters had missed the initial deadline.
The award is voted on by national team coaches and captains, as well as journalists from each FIFA member country. The bookies had predicted Ribery to win the award, but the delay increased Ronaldo’s chances of winning it for the second time. On November 19, he scored a sensational hat trick for Portugal against Sweden in the play-off to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Ribery had a superb season in 2012/13, earning a slew of individual awards, including French Player of the Year and UEFA’s Best Player in Europe Award, for which Lionel Messi was very complimentary, saying: “It was an honour to be in this race again, and among the best three players in Europe […] He deserved to win the trophy”.
Such personal achievements all pointed to Ribery winning the most prestigious individual award, the Ballon d’Or. In 2013, he won the European Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup with Bayern, defeating Chelsea on penalties in Prague and Raja Casablanca 2-0 in Morocco. Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who scored an incredible 55 Real Madrid goals in 2012/13, received no club accolades in 2013.
Ribery delivered in the big moments for Bayern in 2013
Ronaldo’s Real Madrid were knocked out in the Champions League semis by Borussia Dortmund
“I’m not sad, but it hurts the heart,” Ribery remarked. By winning in 2013, Ronaldo became the first player in the twenty-first century to win without winning any honours for their club in the same season. Although Arjen Robben was named man of the match in Bayern’s 2013 Champions League win over Dortmund at Wembley Stadium, Ribery was a huge influence that season, scoring twice in the Nou Camp in Bayern’s 3-0 Champions League semi-final second leg win over Barcelona, and back heeling into Robben’s path in the final minute of the final for the Dutchman to score the winning goal.
Ronaldo versus Franck Ribery during the 2012-13 season
Stat
Ronaldo
Ribery
Club appearances.
55
43
Club goals
55
11
Club assists
13
23
Trophies
None
Bundesliga Championship, German Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup
Previously, the prize was based on performance throughout a calendar year. Ronaldo’s hat-trick against Sweden wasn’t the only one that placed him in the running; he also scored two more hat-tricks for Real Madrid in the same span, totaling three trebles in 21 days. This undoubtedly drew the attention of several casting votes.
Pele was brought on stage to open the envelope and reveal the winner of the 2013 Ballon d’Or, while the camera switched to Messi, Ribery, and Ronaldo, all of whom appeared melancholy. When Pele shouted out Cristiano Ronaldo’s name, Ribery’s face showed sadness, despite his best efforts to hide it. Ronaldo wept when he received the trophy, but Ribery is still emotional about it after all these years.
Ribery Still Mad in 2025
Annoyed by Ronaldo’s Champions League claim
In 2025, Ribery shown that he was not over the incident quite yet. Indeed, when Ronaldo mentioned potential future Ballon d’Or winners, the Frenchman was visibly annoyed.
“For me, the winner of the Ballon d’Or must have won the Champions League,” the Portuguese attacker declared. “I think this award has lost its value.”
Ribery couldn’t help but remind Ronaldo that he had won the competition, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Real Madrid star in 2013. He used social media to say:
“So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d’Or?”
xz
