'So you need to win the Champions League?' - Franck Ribery takes aim at Cristiano Ronaldo, alludes to 2013 Ballon d'Or result

Legendary French forward and former Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery took shots at Portuguese skipper Cristiano Ronaldo as the latter made a comment on who he thinks should win the 2025 Ballon d'Or. In a press conference ahead of the UEFA Nations League final, Ronaldo expressed his opinion that the individual honour should be handed to a player whose team participated in the UEFA Champions League final.

Ronaldo's comments were in response to a question that sought to elicit the veteran's take on who should win the Ballon d'Or between FC Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele. Another frontrunner for the award is Barcelona forward Raphinha, who also leads the tally in goal contributions across Europe's top five leagues.

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However, Ronaldo's comment was enough to provoke Ribery into a heated reaction, as the Frenchman took to Instagram. "So you NEED to win the Champions League to win the Ballon d'Or?", wrote the 42-year-old on his Instagram story.

His reaction alludes to the fact that he missed out on the same award despite being part of a Bayern Munich squad that won the treble. In the title-winning campaign, Ribery led the charge alongside Arjen Robben and Mario Mandzukic. Despite a brilliant season, Ribery saw Ronaldo lift the Ballon d'Or after voting for the same was extended.


This helped the Portuguese attract more votes owing to his hat-trick against Sweden as his team qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.



However, Ronaldo's comment is in contradiction to his own Ballon d'Or triumph, where his side fell in the Champions League 3-4 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund. Ronaldo's five Ballon d'Or wins are second only to rival Lionel Messi, who has lifted 8 till date.

After suggesting that Lamine Yamal should not win the Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo will take him on in the final of the UEFA Nations League as Spain face Portugal at the Allianz Arena in Germany.



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