Ribery’s thoughts on FIFA, the Ballon d'Or award winner & the FIFPro World XI.
In an interview with AZ, Franck Ribery has made public his displeasure of the FIFA Ballon d'Or voting system, claiming that he was more deserving of the award than Cristiano Ronaldo, the winner, because he won five trophies in 2013 while Ronaldo did not win any.
“I won everything I could win with Bayern and individually. Ronaldo, on the other hand, did not win anything. I am not sad that I missed out, but it does hurt a bit. I deserved to win the Ballon d'Or”
Ribery went on to suggest that the decision to reopen the Ballon d'Or voting in November last year, on the same day Ronaldo helped Portugal beat Sweden in the World Cup play-off match, was taken to help Ronaldo’s cause.
“It was clear that Ronaldo would win it. The voting deadline was extended by two weeks. This had never happened before. It wasn't about football. It was a political decision.”
Ribery even criticised FIFA's team of the year , the FIFPro World XI, for only having three Bundesliga players in it, despite two German teams (Bayern and Borussia Dortmund) playing the 2013 Champions League final.
“There are only three Bayern players in there. That's madness. [Thomas] Muller deserves to be there, and so do [David] Alaba, [Bastian] Schweinsteiger and [Arjen] Robben. We won five titles and made history. And then there's the absence of Borussia Dortmund players. Where are [Mario] Gotze and [Robert] Lewandowski? This is impossible.”
Zoopla to end their sponsorship of West Brom in wake of Anelka 'quenelle' row
Zoopla, West Brom's shirt sponsor, have announced that they will end their £3million-a-year deal with the club at the end of the current season. Zoopla were rumoured to be considering such a move following Nicolas Anelka's controversial 'quenelle' celebration at West Ham in December and today they have made an official announcement confirming the said rumour.
Lawrence Hall, Head of Communications for Zoopla, said, "Through our sponsorship of West Bromwich Albion we are pleased to have supported the local community and charities. In recent weeks, however, we have decided to re-evaluate this sponsorship and as a result we will focus our attention on other marketing activities from the end of the season."
Zoopla.co.uk is a property website and is part of the Zoopla Property Group Ltd, a privately held company.
Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema trial has begun in Paris.
The trial of French footballers Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, charged with having sex with an underage prostitute, has begun in Paris today. The two players are accused of paying for sex with Zahia Dehar when she was 16, in Mr Benzema's case, and 17, in Mr Ribery's. Though the age of consent for sex is 15 in France, paying for sex with anyone under 18 is a serious crime.
Ribery and Benzema, on their part, have denied knowingly paying for sex with Zahia Dehar while she was under 18. If found guilty, they could each face up to three years in prison and fines of up to €45,000 ($55,000).
Neither player was present in court, allowing their lawyers to represent them. Zahia Dehar, now 21, did not attend either.
Today's stories were found and written by @GoallineDrama.