Berlin: Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery claims he deserves to be named European Player of the Year as much as the other two contenders for Thursday’s award — Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ribery made the shortlist for the UEFA honour after a 2012/2013 campaign in which the France international helped Bayern to a historic treble of League, Cup and Champions League titles. And discussing his prospects he told Monday’s edition of Kicker magazine: “I’ve dreamed about this title for a long time. 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. Already I’m very happy to be among the finalists. But when you have a season like mine, you want to be rewarded by such an honour.”
Asked to compare his ability with that of Messi and Ronaldo, the 30-year-old added: “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].”
