Franck Bilal Ribery Wins European Footballer of the Year Award
MONACO —France and Bayern Munich midfielder
Franck Ribery won the UEFA Best Player in Europe prize for the 2012-2013 season
on Thursday, thumping Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo by a large margin.
Franck Bilal Ribery earned 36
votes in the poll of journalists from across Europe — 23 more than four-time
reigning world player of the year Lionel Messi. Real Madrid forward Ronaldo won
3 votes.
"It's a very exceptional
moment to be standing here this evening," Ribery said after getting the honor
following the draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in Monaco.
The 30-year-old Ribery was
helpful to Bayern Munich's inconceivable season in which the side won the UEFA Champions
League, Bundesliga and German Cup.
"This distinction
rewards Franck for the superb season he had with his club and above all
underlines his superlative talent which allows him to be considered among the greatest
players in the world," French Football Federation President Noel Le Graet
said. "Everybody in French football is very proud, and are with me in
congratulating him."
The three-man shortlist
was chosen by a board of 53 journalists drawn from each of UEFA's member
nations. The same journalists then voted for the winner.
Franck Ribery had some
stiff antagonism for the award as he beat out Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Real
Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo among others to capture the tribute. Although
Ribery's production doesn't jump off the page as much as Messi's or Ronaldo's,
the truth that he played for the greatest team in the world surely helped his
cause.
With that said,
Ribery's statistics for the 2012-13 season are nothing to sneeze at. He racked
up 11 goals and 18 assists for his team Bayern Munich. More than anything,
Ribery is responsible for fueling Munich's uptempo attack, as he continuously
draws the concentration of defenders and allows his teammates to get open.
UEFA shaped the award after France Football magazine united its traditional European accolade with FIFA's world player award. Lionel Messi won the inaugural prize in 2011 but was beaten by Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta last year.
It is the third successive
year that Messi and Ronaldo have been on the shortlist.
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