Former France and Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery has seemingly fired back at Cristiano Ronaldo's claim that the Ballon d'Or has lost its prestige in recent years and that the winner should at least have won the Champions League in order to be in contention.
While the award is meant to represent the very best individual in the sport throughout the course of the year, major tournament victories have often been a catalyst when deciding a winner, though three of the last four victors have not lifted the famous European Cup in the year they claimed the golden ball. This led to a controversial take from the five-time winner, prompting Ribery's fiery response.
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Ribery Fires Back At Ronaldo
Ribery lost out to Ronaldo in the 2013 Ballon d'Or
Speaking ahead of Portugal's Nations League final with Spain, Ronaldo made the claim that only a player who won the Champions League should be eligible to win the Ballon d'Or, citing the lack of prestige the award currently has. This isn't the first time the 40-year-old has made a similar claim, doing so after admitting he felt Vinicius Junior should've taken home the 2024 award. However, he went into more detail on this occasion.
"For me, whoever wins the Ballon d'Or must be a player who has won the Champions League," the superstar forward stated. "I think this award has lost its value."
Ronaldo's comments led to an impassioned response from Ribery, who was arguably robbed of winning the award in 2013 when the Portuguese star beat him to it. This was despite the fact the Frenchman played a pivotal role in Bayern Munich's treble-winning campaign months before the ceremony, which included a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
Ribery has previously gone on record suggesting that it was a political decision that stopped him from being crowned the first French winner of the award since Zinedine Zidane, and in light of Ronaldo's comments, he took to social media to say:
"So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d'Or?"
The debate has occurred as Ousmane Dembele left himself in pole position to claim the award despite not ever being nominated for it previously after PSG beat Inter Milan comprehensively in this year’s Champions League final. The likes of Raphinha, Mohamed Salah and Lamine Yamal are also believed to be in contention, though they now appear to only have an outside chance.
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All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt - accurate as of 07/06/2025