Bayern Munich summer signing Thiago Alcantara is rooting for teammate Franck Ribery for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for 2013 ahead of Lionel Messi, whom he played with at the Camp Nou before reuniting with Pep Guardiola at the Allianz Arena.
Ribery, who won the Uefa Best Player in Europe award after helping his team to a record-breaking German treble, has been named in the three-man final shortlist for the FIFA award- alongside Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He (Messi) is the best in the world, but I understand the sport is a team game and Ribery has won more titles this year. I think that it is why he should win the Ballon d’Or,” Thiago said.
“Messi will always be looked at with a magnifying glass and negative news is always looked for.”
The 22-year-old scored one of Bayern’s goals in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Raja Casablanca in Marrakesh, which saw the Bavarians add the FIFA Club World Cup to to the Bundesliga, European, German and Super Cups they won earlier in the season.
