Ribery believes in Ballon d'Or chances

September 04, 2013 | 09:15

(0) user say

France winger Franck Ribery is confident he can land the prestigious Ballon d'Or prize for the world's best player.

French forward Franck Ribery. (AFP/Franck Fife)

PARIS - France winger Franck Ribery said Tuesday he is confident he can land the prestigious Ballon d'Or prize for the world's best player.

The 30-year-old was last week named the best player in Europe by UEFA.

Although Argentina and Barcelona star Lionel Messi has owned the Ballon d'Or for the last four years, Ribery believes he is good enough to wrench it away from the diminutive forward.

"Of course I believe," said Ribery from France's pre-World Cup qualifier training base near Paris.

"Last year I did what was needed on the pitch and off it, I was very professional. I enjoyed myself with my team, I took a lot of pleasure (and) I'm full of confidence."

Ribery is likely to feature for France in World Cup European zone qualifying Group I matches against Georgia and Belarus over the coming week.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional