Ribéry reopens the wound of the 2013 Ballon d'Or: « It hurts »

Franck Ribéry has not turned the page. Questioned at the Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy, the former Bayern Munich winger returned to one of the greatest frustrations of his career: failing to win the 2013 Ballon d’Or, despite a season he himself considers the best of his life.

That year, Ribéry had won everything with Bayern Munich: Ligue des Champions, Bundesliga and Coupe d’Allemagne. A historic treble to which was added the title of best player in Europe. « Does this Ballon d’Or miss me? Not anymore. But when you win everything and you have a season like that, when you win the trophy for best player in Europe… I was also the best player in the championship, » he recalled. Before adding: « When it happened, it was definitely a big disappointment. It hurts. But that’s football, it’s hard to accept this situation but you have to keep moving forward. »

It was ultimately Cristiano Ronaldo who was crowned, ahead of Lionel Messi and Ribéry, relegated to third place. The context had then fueled fierce controversy. FIFA, then led by Sepp Blatter, had postponed the voting deadline from November 15 to November 29, 2013, a decision that coincided with the second leg of the 2014 World Cup qualifying playoffs. In this decisive match, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick against Sweden (3-2), qualifying Portugal on his own in a performance that had sparked enormous enthusiasm. In all likelihood, this timing had led many voters to revise their choice in favor of the Portuguese player.

Ribéry never officially contested the result, but he never hid either that this third place had left him with a bitter taste. More than a decade later, his words at the Festival dello Sport confirm that the scar, even if soothed, has not quite disappeared.