Franck Ribery Disappointed With Liverpool Defender's Decision

Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery has revealed his disappointment with France teammate Mamadou Sakho after the Liverpool man said he would vote for Cristiano Ronaldo over his compatriot if given a vote for the Ballon d'Or.

Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were joined by Ribery on the shortlist for the greatest individual accolade in the game after a mesmerising campaign with the Bavarian giants where he helped the club to Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League triumphs.

Many observers favour Ronaldo for the award including Sakho who admitted that if he were given the opportunity to vote he would cast in the favour of the Portugal captain.

His remarks prompted a disappointed reaction from the Bayern man, who told France Football he expected a little more solidarity from his fellow Frenchman.

"His position has deeply disappointed me. But if he thinks that, he could have shown more solidarity by thinking of me, Les Blues and France," Ribery was quoted as saying by Le Sport 10.

"We've only just experienced something extraordinary together with the qualification for the World Cup.

"I was really happy for him with his two goals. But after all, he is free to say whatever he wants."

Ronaldo further underlined his credentials as the best player on the planet in Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Following Luka Modric's exquisite opener the Portuguese star netted his ninth goal of the group stage - a new record haul in the group stages of the competition. The former United man had the chance to add some gloss to the performance from the penalty spot but his audacious effort was saved.

His hat trick last month to help his country beat Sweden and qualify for next summer's World Cup significantly boosted Ronaldo's hopes of claiming the award for the first time since 2008, with Messi having suffered with injuries through the second half of the year.