The extension for the Ballon d'Or voting has drawn a tremendous amount of controversy and now UEFA President Michel Platini may be taking a stab at FIFA for permitting the extension.
"It is a FIFA decision which coincided with the Portugal play-off for the World Cup in Brazil, with Cristiano's three goals in the game against Sweden," he said, according to ESPN. "It could be that FIFA did it to please Cristiano..."
While Platini may have been laughing as he delivered this final comment, his opinion matches that of many who believe that the voting extension was made to give Ronaldo his victory and potentially mend some differences between the Portuguese superstar and FIFA's much maligned president Sepp Blatter. A few weeks ago, Blatter poked fun at Ronaldo at Oxford while declaring Lionel Messi his favorite player in the world. Ronaldo and his contingent took exception to these comments and blasted the FIFA President. Ronaldo even claimed that he would not attend the Ballon d'Or ceremony in January.
FIFA defended the voting extension by claiming that it had not garnered sufficient votes prior to the deadline and was looking to get a more representative vote to decide the winner. Whether or not Ronaldo winds up victorious is still up in the air. Some have claimed that Messi is the winner while others believe that Franck Ribery could still place first. Platini noted that the race was as tight as ever.
"It seems the favorites are Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ribery," Platini said. "The first two are very good, and Ribery is the one who has won everything. They are three great players. The choice of the Ballon d'Or this year is the most difficult in the history of the trophy."