Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery came third in the FIFA Ballon d’Or award rankings this campaign. Many reckon that he should have won the trophy after having helped the German club to 3 major trophies last season. His competitors – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – did not achieve much success at the team level. Despite this status, Ribery has been out of the rotation policy of the club introduced by manager pep Guardiola. It was expected at the start of the season that Ribery would kick on following the arrival of Guardiola, who has previously got the best out of players like Lionel Messi.

However, this has not been the case because the Frenchman has featured in only 39 matches of all competitions. This is his lowest tally in recent years and it has not been a case of being injured for most of the season. The problem has come because Guardiola has often left him out of the starting line-up in order to keep him fresh for the upcoming matches. Ribery have responded to the rotation policy by claiming that he is not happy with it and he wants rest only after playing six consecutive matches. Ribery has not only suffered from the policy of Guardiola. Players like Arjen Robben have also been in and out of the team.

“Sometimes you were playing, sometimes you were on the bench and sometimes you were just left at home. That was a new situation for all of us. Personally, I need to be playing games. I need five or six games before maybe taking a break, but not after just one game. It’s going to be touch and go. Maybe I’ll be okay for the bench or to play a bit of the game,” said the Frenchman, who is expected to star at the World Cup 2014.