UEFA president Michel Platini believes Franck Ribery should have won the 2013 Ballon d’Or and not Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Platini rued the change in voting from the previous version of the award, which was formerly under the discretion of France Football magazine.
Now it is a FIFA award, and Platini believes the criteria to win have changed accordingly – and to the detriment of his fellow Frenchman Ribery.
“I am very disappointed it wasn’t Ribery,” Platini is quoted as saying by L’Equipe.
“Next year we will return to the Cristiano-Messi duel, and in two years we will have Cristiano, Messi, Messi, Cristiano between the years.
“For 50 years the Ballon d’Or has taken into account titles won on the field.
“Now it is more based on the overall performance of the players and that’s a problem.
“Although Cristiano Ronaldo is a great, something has changed since FIFA organised it,” the three-time winner said.
