Thursday, November 27, 2014

Frank Ribery speaks out on politics behind FIFA's Ballon D'or

French player Frank Ribery slams the selection of players for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award, the Baern Munich winger believes the individual award is no longer decided on merit, but rather on politcs. Ribery who came in third in the 2013 voting behind first-runner up Messi and award winner Cristiano Ronaldo expects team-mates Manuel Neuer or Arjen Robben to win the the award for their achievements in 2014, he however believes neither will win the coveted award. Bayern's goalkeeper Neuer who is regarded as the best in the world helped Germany in their historic World Cup win, while Holland's Robben had a great season in both country and club. Speaking in a recent interview the winger said-
“ Manuel Neuer or Arjen Robben should win it. You can't disagree with this. Manu has won it all, he is a great guy and he isn't arrogant. Arjen has played an incredible season in the Bundesliga and then fantastic World Cup.”
On the politics he said- “But I fear it will be about politics again. The Ballon d'Or is no longer for the best player. It' all about politics. Fabio Cannavaro won it in 2006 because he won the World Cup, that's all.”

Although both men made the 23-man shortlist for the award, Ronaldo is in the lead to win for the second consecutive year following his championships league success with his side, Real Madrid.

The 31-year-old player who did not make this year's 23-man list believes the award has lost all its meaning after he witnessed first hand how last year's winner(Ronaldo) was treated, speaking to Sport Bild, he also said-
“I learned a lot during last year's Ballon d'Or gala. As soon as I got there, I told my wife that I would lose. He also stated: “I saw how Sepp Blatter was hugging Ronaldo and how his entire family was there. I'm not stupid. It was clear that he had to win it. He wouldn't have brought his entire family with him otherwise.”

Emphasizing that there will be a repeat action of last year's gala, Ribery said-

“It will be the same this year. What can I say about it.”

Disregarding any notion of personal or self-interest he also stated-

“I don't miss the Ballon d'Or. I am not jealous because this award doesn't mean anything to me any more. I am happy with that I have in Munich. When 70, 000 fans are screaming my name at the Allianz Arena, I get goosebumps. I can go home happy after that.”







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