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The three horse race to win the FIFA World Player of the Year award has heated up rather nicely in the last few months.

Lionel Messi was many’s favorite to win it once again, but then injuries have ravaged his progress in recent months and put him way down the pecking. Seeing his chance to grab the coveted trophy, Cristiano Ronaldo has been in sensational form this season scoring 32 goals in 22 games.

And then there’s Franck Ribery.

Leading Bayern Munich to every possible domestic trophy in Germany and then the UEFA Champions League title at Wembley last May. On top of that Ribery’s France made it to the World Cup, just, and his delightful dribbling and incredible work rate has seen him become Bayern’s go-to guy.

The 27-year-old Frenchman, who picked up the UEFA Player of the Year award ahead of Ronaldo and Messi in September, believes he should win world soccer’s biggest individual honor too.

“I am confident. I have done all I had to,” Ribery said. “If you look at my performances all year long, I have made the difference. I may not score in every match but I set the defenses on fire.”

As for the sizzling goalscoring form Ronaldo is showing this season, Ribery believes his displays shouldn’t be measured in goals.

“Ronaldo certainly scores more than I do,” Ribery said, “but we don’t have the same style.”

The Frenchman has a point, he’s game is more about creating gaps for others to exploit and when it comes to getting his name on the score sheet he’s nowhere near the numbers Ronaldo and Messi put up. In his last 65 games he’s only scored 24 goals but Ribery should not be brushed aside as an outsider in the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate.

On his day he’s good enough to compete with both star names but anybody who thinks Ronaldo doesn’t deserve this years Ballon d’Or, including Ribery himself, is absolutely bonkers.

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, if the Portuguese goalscoring machine isn’t officially crowned the best player on the planet, there should be uproar.

Sorry Franck, love your self confidence, but you don’t deserve this ahead of Ronaldo.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports