According to Franck Ribery, it is unfair that he only finished third in the 2013 Ballon d’Or vote, behind Lionel Messi and winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
“2013 was a perfect year for me,” Ribery, a former Bayern and France player, told L’Equipe on March 22. “I couldn’t have done better. That Ballon d’Or will forever be an injustice. I’m still looking for an explanation. I will never understand why the voting deadline was extended by two weeks.”
In 2013, France Football magazine and FIFA also collaborated to vote for the FIFA Ballon d’Or. At that time, the voting deadline was November 15. However, on November 20, FIFA announced an extension to November 29, citing “not enough valid votes received before the original deadline”. This is the only time the Ballon d’Or has extended the voting deadline beyond its original announcement.
As of January 13, 2014, the results showed that Ronaldo, who had no collective titles in 2013, won the FIFA Ballon d’Or with 27.99% of the points. Lionel Messi, who won La Liga with Barca, came second with 24.72%. Meanwhile, Ribery, who played a major role in Bayern’s five-time Champions League, Bundesliga, German Cup, European Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, came third with 23.36%.
The 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or election took place during the time of former FIFA President Sepp Blatter. In October 2015, Blatter was suspended from his duties while under investigation for corruption. Two months later, the FIFA Ethics Committee banned him from football for eight years, before the Appeals Committee reduced the ban to six years. In March 2021, following an investigation into a large bonus, Blatter was given an additional six-year ban and fined $1.1 million.
France Football magazine and FIFA cooperated to vote for the FIFA Ballon d’Or from 2010 to 2015. Since 2016, the two agencies have separated to vote for two separate titles: Ballon d’Or and The Best.
Messi currently holds the record for eight Ballons d’Or, while Ronaldo is second with five. Ribery has yet to win a Ballon d’Or and will retire in 2022.
