France's Ribéry makes Ballon d'Or shortlist
France international forward Franck Ribéry has been shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or, along with Argentinian and Portugese superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
France's Franck Ribéry was shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or on Monday, along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the sport's world governing body FIFA and sponsors France Football magazine said.
French winger Ribéry was part of a Bayern Munich team that claimed an unprecedented treble of Champions League, German title and German Cup, as well as the European Supercup.
Barcelona forward Messi has already won the title four times but seems less of a hot favourite this year after an injury-hit season.
Real Madrid's Portugese striker Ronaldo won the 2008 Ballon d'Or and has been tipped to win the award this time around.
Although Ribéry plays in Germany, this year's long list for the award was seen as a sign of the growing power of French football, or at least the dominance of two clubs, with the country's Ligue 1 represented by four players, as opposed to just one last year.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain had a three-strong contingent in October's long list, including Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Brazilian defender Thiago Silva and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani.
Monaco’s Radamel Falcao was the fourth player who plies his trade in France to make the list.
Ribéry's former Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes is up against ex-Manchester United supremo Alex Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund) in the male coach of the year nominees.
The Ballon d'Or will be presented in Zurich on January 13th.
More to follow.
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France's Franck Ribéry was shortlisted for this year's Ballon d'Or on Monday, along with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the sport's world governing body FIFA and sponsors France Football magazine said.
French winger Ribéry was part of a Bayern Munich team that claimed an unprecedented treble of Champions League, German title and German Cup, as well as the European Supercup.
Barcelona forward Messi has already won the title four times but seems less of a hot favourite this year after an injury-hit season.
Real Madrid's Portugese striker Ronaldo won the 2008 Ballon d'Or and has been tipped to win the award this time around.
Although Ribéry plays in Germany, this year's long list for the award was seen as a sign of the growing power of French football, or at least the dominance of two clubs, with the country's Ligue 1 represented by four players, as opposed to just one last year.
French champions Paris Saint-Germain had a three-strong contingent in October's long list, including Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Brazilian defender Thiago Silva and Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani.
Monaco’s Radamel Falcao was the fourth player who plies his trade in France to make the list.
Ribéry's former Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes is up against ex-Manchester United supremo Alex Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund) in the male coach of the year nominees.
The Ballon d'Or will be presented in Zurich on January 13th.
More to follow.
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