Bayern Munich legend Franck Ribery is adamant that he should have won the Ballon d'Or over Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo while he was still with the Bavarian giants.
During the 2012/13 season, Bayern achieved the historic feat of completing their first-ever treble. At the heart of that triumph was diminutive French winger Ribery, who amassed 11 goals and 23 assists for Die Roten in that campaign.
However, it was Ronaldo who ended up winning the 2013 edition of the Ballon d'Or, while the Bayern attacker finished in third position behind the Portuguese and Barcelona's Messi.
Now playing for Italian side Salernitana, the 39-year-old still feels slighted by the decision to give the then-Real Madrid man the Golden Ball, suggesting that there might have been larger forces at play.
"It was unfair, it was an incredible season for me, and I should have won it," Ribery told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"They extended the time for votes, and something strange happened. I felt that it was a political choice."
Ronaldo and Messi were the duopoly for the illustrious award as of the late 2000s and most of the 2010s, with the pair sharing 12 Ballons d'Or between them, although a few other players, like Ribery, may have had a case for winning it over them at various points.
