Ballon d'Or 2025: Why Franck Ribery laughed at Cristiano Ronaldo statement on Lamine Yamal possibly winning trophy
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Updated 13/06/2025 at 14:27 GMT+1
As we edge closer towards the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony, speculation is, of course, rife as to who could be taking home the coveted Golden Ball this time around. With the likes of Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in the hunt this year, the award of the prize 12 years ago has been the topic of discussion again recently, with the man who missed out taking issue with its winner.
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The Ballon d'Or remains the biggest individual prize in football, so when you miss out after coming so close, it's naturally going to sting.
Effectively recognised as the best player in the world, winning the award is arguably the crowning individual achievement for the game’s biggest names.
Over the last two decades, we’ve seen two men in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, both of whom have won multiple awards since 2008, with their dominance often leading to other great players watching what may potentially be their only chance to land the prize pass them by.
Franck Ribery is one such player who feels this was the case back in 2013, and boy, he has certainly not forgotten about it some 12 years later…
What happened in 2013?
Ribery had his best season in Bayern colours in 2012/13, helping the club to the ‘treble’, comprising the Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) and UEFA Champions League.
He also lifted the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup later that year.
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On an individual level, he registered 25 goal contributions in the league, including topping the competition assists chart, as well as serving up the winning goal for Arjen Robben in the Champions League final.
His achievements were recognised by way of inclusion in UEFA’s team of the year and winning the UEFA player of the year award, but he could only place third in the Ballon d’Or final voting behind Messi and, of course, Ronaldo.
For his part, the Portuguese star bagged 55 goals for Real Madrid over the course of the season and was the top scorer in the Champions League.
However, in a relatively fallow period in his career, his Real side finished a distant second in La Liga, lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semis, and were beaten by Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey final, leaving him and his team-mates trophyless for the campaign.
Of his five total Ballon d’Or wins, the 2013 crown is one that people may justifiably question.
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What did Ronaldo say about the Ballon d’Or this year?
And with those five Golden Balls sitting on his mantelpiece, the 40-year-old is somewhat less fussed about claiming the prize again.
With it now seemingly unlikely he will ever catch up to his great rival Messi on eight, Ronaldo has sought to downplay the importance of the award, although he suggested a worthy winner should be someone who contributes to a Champions League success.
"The individual awards have lost some consensus," he said ahead of Portugal’s recent UEFA Nations League success. "I can’t say anything about who should win. In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win."
What was Ribery’s reaction?
Despite a glittering career collecting several more honours, both with Bayern and individually, the pain of missing out in 2013 is still seemingly a sore subject for Ribery.
His ears seemed to have pricked up at the specific line from his rival, in which he stated: "In my opinion, those who stand out and win the Champions League should win."
Taking to social media, Ribery posted: "So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d'Or?" followed by a string of sarcastic laughing emojis.
Needless to say, the Bayern legend is not afraid to point out the apparent irony, as he would see it, of Ronaldo’s claim, given the outcome of the 2013 vote.
Who are this year’s contenders?
According to the latest odds, the top five favourites for this year’s prize are Ousmane Dembele, Lamine Yamal, Vitinha, Mohamed Salah and Raphinha.
Ronaldo did praise Spain and Barcelona wonderkid Yamal, suggesting the 17-year-old could be in the running after a brilliant campaign.
"Lamine Yamal is doing very well, he is taking full advantage of his talent.
"Now let the kid grow and don’t put too much pressure on him. Let him be and let him grow well, take the pressure off him. He has no shortage of talent."
He added: "Lamine could win, like Dembele or Vitinha, other emerging players… but individual awards are irrelevant."
It is probably sure Ribery – who clearly doesn’t see the award as ‘irrelevant’, will be keeping a watchful eye on the award, noting that, of course, only the PSG pair of Dembele and Vitinha lifted the Champions League last season.
Does winning UEFA Champions League have an impact on Ballon d’Or?
Probably further fuelling Ribery’s indignation, after 2013, the next five winners of the Ballon d’Or were all winners of the Champions League the year they picked up the award, with Ronaldo winning it three times, Messi once and Luka Modric taking home the award in 2018.
Karim Benzema then took the award home in 2022 as part of a Champions League-winning Real Madrid side.
| Year | Winner | Notable success |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | UEFA Champions League |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | UEFA Champions League, La Liga, Copa Del Rey |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | UEFA Champions League, UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | UEFA Champions League, La Liga |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | UEFA Champions League, World Cup finalist |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | La Liga winner |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Copa America |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | UEFA Champions League, La Liga |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi | FIFA World Cup |
| 2024 | Rodri | Premier League |
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