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#2 Franck Ribery
According to many pundits and fans in the footballing world, Franck Ribery was robbed of the 2013 Ballon d'Or, despite exceptional displays for Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 season.
The Frenchman played a crucial role in Bayern Munich's quadruple trophy haul in 2013. He won the UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup, German Cup, and UEFA Super Cup. Ribery notched up 22 goals and 18 assists that season, but much like his teammate Manuel Neuer, the Bayern Munich forward finished third behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Portuguese forward won the prestigious award with a tally of 66 goals from 56 appearances, but had no trophies to show for his efforts.
In an interview with TZ newspaper following the award ceremony, Ribery stated,
"I won everything, with the team and individually. Ronaldo won nothing. I feel I had earned this award. It's all politics. The Ballon d'Or doesn't interest me any more."
In a 2014 interview with Goal.com, the former Fiorentina forward further added,
"I saw how Sepp Blatter was hugging Ronaldo and how his entire family was there. I'm not stupid. It was clear that he had to win it. He wouldn't have brought his entire family with him otherwise."
Five years on, Ribery reaffirmed his disappointment at losing out on the Ballon d'Or accolade in an interview with Canal+. He said,
"It was as if it was stolen from me. It's incomprehensible. I won every trophy, I couldn't have done more. It was an injustice."
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
As confirmed by former Juventus boss, Massimiliano Allegri, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was fuming after being overlooked for the 2018 UEFA Best Player of the Year award.
Allegri said in a post-match conference,
"Yesterday he (Ronaldo) was very angry, and it's only normal. He scored 15 goals in the Champions League and won the trophy with his teammates. The attitude of Ronaldo shows how much he continues to strive and work to still be the best. This is an advantage for us."
Luka Modric was also awarded the Ballon d'Or that year, following which Cristiano Ronaldo told Italian media,
"Of course I'm disappointed. On the pitch I've done everything to win the Ballon d'Or, numbers do not lie. Congratulations to Modric, who has earned the award, but next year we will meet again and I will do everything to win the prize again."
After winning the 2018 Ballon d'Or, Modric dedicated the trophy to all the modern greats denied by two of the greatest-ever footballers. The Croatian said,
"Maybe in the past there are some players who could have won the Ballon d'Or like Xavi, Andres Iniesta or Sneijder but people finally now are looking at someone else."
