Real Madrid fullback Fabio Coentrao has slammed UEFA president Michel Platini for suggesting Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't deserve the Ballon d'Or.
Platini claims a member of Germanys World Cup winning team should be given the gong.
Coentrao told A Bola: "Holding the jobs they do and with the responsibilities they have, for these executives to be carrying out the campaign they appear to be, it just puts them in a bad light. Anyone can see it would be an utter disgrace if Cristiano didn’t receive the Ballon d’Or, which is an individual award, not for a team."
"The idea you’re left with is that some people want to turn the Ballon d’Or into a political decision, and that’s terrible."
"Hearing what some people, who hold jobs of enormous responsibility, are saying, they appear to be declarations designed to influence the decision. And that for me is, at a minimum, ridiculous."