Franck Ribery has revealed that he still hasn't 'digested' the final result of the Ballon d'Or in 2013.
The Bayern Munich star came third in the voting as Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his second Ballon d'Or trophy ahead of rival Lionel Messi.
The voting for the prestigious title was the closest it has ever been as Ronaldo picked up 27.99 per cent of the ballot, Messi with 24.72 per cent and Ribery taking 23.36 per cent – a decision that has 'disgusted' the Frenchman ever since.
Franck Ribery has revealed that he still hasn't 'digested' the final result of the Ballon d'Or in 2013.
The Bayern Munich star came third in the voting as Cristiano Ronaldo picked up his second Ballon d'Or trophy ahead of rival Lionel Messi.
The voting for the prestigious title was the closest it has ever been as Ronaldo picked up 27.99 per cent of the ballot, Messi with 24.72 per cent and Ribery taking 23.36 per cent – a decision that has 'disgusted' the Frenchman ever since.
'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.'
Despite helping Bayern to the treble, Ronaldo enjoyed a superb year personally as he netted 66 times in 56 games for Real Madrid and Portugal and has since gone on to win the award three more times, having matched Messi's record of winning the accolade five times in total.
The decision in 2013 resulted in Ribery having a tense relationship with French football as he believed he wasn't supported in his quest to be crowned as the world's best footballer for that calendar year.
Ribery continued: '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.'
The 35-year-old is now in the latter stages of his career but still features regularly in the setup at Bayern.
Ribery has featured 24 times in all competitions for Bayern this season, scoring five times and setting up his team-mates once.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
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