Ribery confident in Ballon d´Or chances

Bayern Munich attacker Franck Ribery is confident he will win the FIFA Ballon d’Or ahead of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese is considered a hot favourite after scoring all four of his country’s goals in their recent FIFA World Cup play-off 4-2 aggregate win over Sweden.

The 28-year-old’s hat-trick in the Friends Arena capped an impressive performance, but Ribery was also in form on the same night, helping France overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit to overcome Ukraine in Paris.

Voting for the award was pushed back after the games with football’s governing body claiming the decision was down to a poor number of ballots.

Ribery dismissed any notion that the decision would play into Ronaldo’s hands, claiming he had made “the difference” for Bayern in a year that saw them claim an unprecedented treble of Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and UEFA Champions League titles.

“It’s true that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored many goals, but so have I,” he told Le Monde.

“He may have scored more than me, but the profile of game was not the same. If you look at my performances throughout the year, I have been the difference.

“We are different players. I may not score as often as him, but I make life hell for defenders.

“I have no fear, I have done what I had to do and now all I can do is wait for the result.

“The most important thing for me, in terms of winning the Ballon d’Or, was to keep my form up and help France qualify for the World Cup. Until now I’ve not slipped up once.”

In 2013, Ribery has scored 18 goals in 44 games for club and country, laying on a further 26 assists.