Franck Ribéry Mocks Cristiano Ronaldo: Legendary French footballer Franck Ribéry has questioned a recent remark made by Cristiano Ronaldo, who suggested that a player needs to win the UEFA Champions League in a year they win the Ballon d’Or.
The Ballon d’Or is a prestigious award given to a player considered to be the best footballer in the world in a particular year. Handed out by France Football magazine, this prize has been given to some of the greatest players in the sport’s history, from Ronaldinho to Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazário.
However, the two men most synonymous with the trophy are Lionel Messi, who has won it on eight occasions, and CR7, who is a five-time winner. Considered the two best players of their generation, many regard an era of over a decade of world football as the Messi-Ronaldo era, seeing that these two men won 13 out of 16 years from 2008 to 2023.
Before we follow through with why Ribéry seemingly mocked Ronaldo’s statement, we must discuss what the Portuguese striker really said. The 40-year-old, who currently plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, will represent his national team in the final of the UEFA Nations League this Sunday against Spain.
One of the players who is a front runner for the Ballon d’Or this year is Spain and Barcelona attacker Lamine Yamal, who has impressed the world in the past year with his incredible skill at his very young age. Ahead of the final, when Cristiano was questioned whether Yamal would win the prestigious honour, the veteran said,
“In my opinion, whoever wins it should be on a team that has won trophies. The Ballon d’Or winner should be in a team that has won the Champions League.”
In the 2024-25 season, Yamal missed out on winning the UCL with Barcelona as the Spanish giants were eliminated in the semi-finals. This gives context for Cristiano Ronaldo’s sentiment. But then why would Franck Ribéry, considered one of the greatest midfielders of his era, question this statement?
Ribéry is a Bayern Munich legend and formed an excellent partnership at the wings with Arjen Robben. Many would claim that the best season of his career, performance-wise, was 2012-13. That season, he played 39 games for Bayern across all competitions, scoring 16 and assisting 15 goals from the left wing.
As for his team, they won the Bundesliga by a landslide that season. They also won the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup, completing the quadruple.
Despite such a stellar season in terms of individual performance and team success, Ribéry only finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings, behind second-placed Lionel Messi and first-placed Cristiano Ronaldo.
“So You Need To Win The Champions Trophy” – Franck Ribéry Questions Cristiano Ronaldo’s Remark About Needing A UCL To Win The Ballon d’Or.
Legendary French footballer Franck Ribéry has questioned a recent remark made by Cristiano Ronaldo, who suggested that a player needs to win the UEFA Champions League in a year they win the Ballon d’Or.
The Ballon d’Or is a prestigious award given to a player considered to be the best footballer in the world in a particular year. Handed out by France Football magazine, this prize has been given to some of the greatest players in the sport’s history, from Ronaldinho to Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazário.
However, the two men most synonymous with the trophy are Lionel Messi, who has won it on eight occasions, and CR7, who is a five-time winner. Considered the two best players of their generation, many regard an era of over a decade of world football as the Messi-Ronaldo era, seeing that these two men won 13 out of 16 years from 2008 to 2023.
Before we follow through with why Ribéry seemingly mocked Ronaldo’s statement, we must discuss what the Portuguese striker really said. The 40-year-old, who currently plays for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, will represent his national team in the final of the UEFA Nations League this Sunday against Spain.
One of the players who is a front runner for the Ballon d’Or this year is Spain and Barcelona attacker Lamine Yamal, who has impressed the world in the past year with his incredible skill at his very young age. Ahead of the final, when Cristiano was questioned whether Yamal would win the prestigious honour, the veteran said,
“In my opinion, whoever wins it should be on a team that has won trophies. The Ballon d’Or winner should be in a team that has won the Champions League.”
In the 2024-25 season, Yamal missed out on winning the UCL with Barcelona as the Spanish giants were eliminated in the semi-finals. This gives context for Cristiano Ronaldo’s sentiment. But then why would Franck Ribéry, considered one of the greatest midfielders of his era, question this statement?
Ribéry is a Bayern Munich legend and formed an excellent partnership at the wings with Arjen Robben. Many would claim that the best season of his career, performance-wise, was 2012-13. That season, he played 39 games for Bayern across all competitions, scoring 16 and assisting 15 goals from the left wing.
As for his team, they won the Bundesliga by a landslide that season. They also won the DFB-Pokal, the UEFA Champions League, and the UEFA Super Cup, completing the quadruple.
Despite such a stellar season in terms of individual performance and team success, Ribéry only finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings, behind second-placed Lionel Messi and first-placed Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite not winning the UCL in 2012-13, Ronaldo won the title of being the best player in the world that season. So now, when he claimed that winning the UCL is crucial for winning the Ballon d’Or, Ribéry took to social media to write,
“So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d’Or? 
”
Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League this season. However, none of the players from that team are considered front-runners to win the Ballon d’Or. Lamine Yamal can make his case stronger if he wins the Nations League final with Spain.
Despite not winning the UCL in 2012-13, Ronaldo won the title of being the best player in the world that season. So now, when he claimed that winning the UCL is crucial for winning the Ballon d’Or, Ribéry took to social media to write,
“So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d’Or? ”
Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League this season. However, none of the players from that team are considered front-runners to win the Ballon d’Or. Lamine Yamal can make his case stronger if he wins the Nations League final with Spain.
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