For the second consecutive year, a player not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi has won the UEFA Player of the Year award. Franck Ribery was awarded the honor earlier on Thursday.
The award recognizes the brilliant season that Ribery and his club Bayern Munich had in 2012-13. The team took home the Bundesliga Champions Cup and also picked up the Champions League trophy to round out a historic year.
Ribery had gained a lot of support lately and the Frenchman had been vocal about deserving the award.
"I've dreamed about this title for a long time," Ribery said, according to the Malay Mail Online. "Last season I played really well and won huge titles. Why shouldn't I win it? I deserve it as much as the other two."
"Each has their own qualities. What [Messi and Ronaldo] do for sure better than me is score goals. They score more often than me, but I set up more goals [than them]," he added.
The next step would ultimately be the 2014 Ballon d'Or. Andres Iniesta won the 2012 Best Player in Europe award but could not prevent Lionel Messi from picking up his fourth straight Ballon d'Or award.
Ribery's France Coach Didier Deschamps thinks the Frenchman is deserving of the top honor.
"I think Ribery deserves the Ballon d'Or for his performances, his season, and the titles he has won," Deschamps said, according to Goal.com. "He is a player who can claim the Ballon d'Or in the same way as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Franck won three titles with Bayern Munich. Few people win as many trophies in a season."
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