“It said I voted for Messi, Ronaldo, but I didn’t vote for them” - When African star claimed Ballon d'Or organisers changed votes to favour superstars

Former captain of Equatorial Guinea national team Juvenal Edjogo previously said that his votes in the 2013 Ballon d'Or were changed. He said that his votes were not for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but the official records stated otherwise.

Speaking to Gol Play last year, Juvenal said that he had voted for Didier Drogba and Andres Iniesta in 2013. However, the official records were changed to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to help the duo in their quest for the award. He said via AS:

"What little I can say about this type of award is that in 2013, I voted for my three players for the Ballon d'Or, and I sent my votes, and in the end when it was made public, the list of who voted for who, my votes were different.

"It said I voted for Messi, Cristiano, and I don't know who else, but I didn't vote for any of them. That's why I say, I don't believe in absolutely anything about those awards. Since then, I've thought these awards have no value."

Albania's Gianni De Biasi also said that his votes were also switched, saying via EURO Sport:

"I gave five points to Ronaldo, three to Messi and one to Ibrahimovic. I did not give five to Ibrahimovic. This is b******t and lies."

Kuwait manager Jorvan Vieira was also on the same boat and confirmed that his votes were changed as well:

"I think there has been a fraud here. I voted for (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic."

Franck Ribery said that he should have won the 2013 Ballon d'Or and not Cristiano Ronaldo. However, the Portuguese star finished with 27.99 percent of votes, while the Frenchman came third with 23.36 percent votes, while Messi finished second with 24.72 percent of votes.

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Franck Ribery admitted he wanted to win the 2013 Ballon d'Or

Franck Ribery spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport and admitted that the 2013 Ballon d'Or was unfair. The Frenchman said that he deserved the award after the incredible season he had with Bayern Munich as he said:

“It was unfair. It was an incredible season for me, and I should have won it. They extended the time for votes, and something strange happened. I felt that it was a political choice."

Ribery had won the UEFA Champions League and Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2013 but finished third in the Ballon d'Or race.