Bayern Munich news: Franck Ribery 'disgusted' he lost 2013 Ballon d'Or to Ronaldo
What's the story?
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has revealed that he is still unhappy with his infamous Ballon d'Or snub in 2013, which saw then Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo take home the prize.
In case you didn't know...
The Frenchman narrowly missed out on the coveted individual accolade, finishing third behind Ronaldo and Barcelona ace Lionel Messi.
Ribery received 23.36 percent of the votes in the ballot while Messi received 24.72 percent and Ronaldo 27.99 percent.
The winger had a phenomenal year as he helped Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title, as well as the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup trophies. He also netted 18 goals and 20 assists in 46 appearances for the German giants.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, found the net 66 times in 56 games for Real Madrid and Portugal that year.
The heart of the matter
Ribery has made his feelings about the snub pretty clear since then, calling it 'a robbery' and 'an injustice' (via ESPN) just last year.
The Frenchman has once again reiterated his feelings to L'Equipe saying (via the Daily Mail), "'I saw myself as the Ballon d'Or. It's the truth. Even today, I think I deserved it. I still haven't digested it. I did everything to have it."
"I ticked all the boxes. I won all I could win with Bayern. I couldn't do better! I did a very, very, very big personal year."
"'I had nothing to envy Ronaldo or Messi for, that year. I really took a big hit on the head. I experienced this third place as a terrible injustice."
"I asked the question 10,000 times: why not me? The more I thought, the more I was disgusted. All was not clear."
Ribery even suggested that people in power in French football were not in solidarity with him at the time.
"For the Ballon d'Or, for example, there are team-mates and people who have power in French football who have not been in solidarity with me. I felt that these people wouldn't have been happy if I was Ballon d'Or winner."
What's next?
After a decade of the Ronaldo-Messi duopoly over individual awards, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric went on to break the stranglehold and win the Ballon d'Or last year.
As for Ribery himself, his form has tailed away quite a bit but he still remains an integral part of the Bayern side looking to challenge on all fronts this season.