Ribéry carried out a dream course in 2013, winning six trophies with Bayern Munich, including the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup. He scored 22 goals and issued 18 assists in 52 club and selection games, and was considered the big favorite to win the Ballon d'Or that year.
However, once the results of the vote have been published, the Frenchman finished third with 1,127 votes, behind Lionel Messi (1,205 votes) and the winner Cristiano Ronaldo (1,365 votes). The voting process also aroused some questions, because for the first time, the deadline for depositing the votes was postponed from November 15 to 29.
The big failure of 2013
Recalling the injustice he was the victim 12 years ago, Ribéry told the team: “With the greatest humility and the greatest respect, Messi and Ronaldo were not better than me in 2013. The 2013 Golden Ball will forever remain an injustice. I'm still looking for an explanation. I had a perfect year. I couldn't have done better. »»
“” I will never understand why the voting date has been postponed by more than two weeks. Leo and Cristiano have always shown me respect. They knew I was at their table. In all humility, in 2013, I had nothing to envy them.
At 41, he left Bayern in 2019 and spent the following two seasons in Serie A at La Fiorentina. He then joined Salernitana for a last season and finally announced his retirement in October 2022 due to a recurring knee injury.
