Since its inception in 1956, the Ballon d’Or has been the subject of much debate.A decade after winning the prize, many people are still baffled as to why Matthias Sammer was chosen instead of Ronaldo Nazario. In 2001, choosing Michael Owen over Raul was a more egregious error.
Since 2013, however, the prized award has altered forever. It was then that the number of social media followers a player had became more important than their on-field performance.
It was that year, when the once-sought-after Ballon d’Or award became what we know today as a popularity contest. That season, bothLionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldohad stellar seasons before the awarding ceremony. However, there is always one winner.
Who won the Ballon d’Or in2013?
Once again, the now-former Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo was recognized as the world’s best player, breaking Lionel Messi’s grip on the award. Thus, theduopoly of dominance between the Messi and Ronaldo duo was born.
In that calendar year, the Argentine as well as third-placed Franck Riberyhad 238 shots on target and 296 misses, compared to Ronaldo’s 296. The Portuguese staralso had a worse season than expected in terms of everything from accuracy and conversion to passes and completions to interceptions and fouls.
It didn’t seem to matter, however, since the veteran startriumphed, demonstrating once and for all that a player’s season quality might sometimesmeanabsolutely nothing. In 2013, Ribery was clearly the finest player on the globe, but he didn’t even have the support of his own nation.
Who should have won it as perFranck Ribery?
The current Salernitana leaderthinks he should have won the 2013 Ballon d’Or over Messi and Ronaldo. That year, he helped Bayern win the UEFA Champions League but it wasRonaldo whowas awarded the coveted title. The Frenchmanalso said something wasn’t right while deciding on the prize.
“It was unfair.it was an incredible season for me, and I should have won it. They extended the time for votes, and something strange happened. I felt that it was a political choice,”the 39-year-oldsaid in an interview with Italian newspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport.