I’m so sick of seeing a billion posts and comments saying “messi didn’t deserve the trophy” or “messi robbed haaland”. Do people watch football or just look at stats? Ballon d’or is for best player, not goalscorer. And almost every player agreed to this saying messi deserves it over haaland.
I think the problem about ballon d’or is consistency, Messi won it in 2010 and 2019 for his individual performances (most goals, golden boot, most G+A), but then he won the 2021 and 2023 Ballon d’ors for collective trophies: World Cup and Copa America, in both those years Lewa and Haaland had more goals, won golden boot and finished with more G+A.
If the World Cup was so important than why didn’t Xavi win in 2010? Where he was rated as the highest player, they gave Modric the Ballon D’or in 2018 because of the World Cup but not Xavi?
If Messi won the 2010 ballon because of stats, then Ronaldo should have won it 2018 instead of Modric, Ronaldo scored 16 UCL goals (2nd most all time in a single season), and Haaland should have won it this year.
The change the criteria every year.
Btw I think Messi is the GOAT, but I don’t understand the criteria anymore, some years they value individual stats more other years they value team trophies more.
This,
It is just a popularity contest nothing more. like every award it needs some kind of consistency on the criteria on what they are rating it on, I have no problems with who every wins it but when someone wins it for one reason one year the next year they rate it on something else.
You are missing one key importance when it comes to the World Cup winners. Only golden ball winners (best player of the tournament) have won the Balon d’Or.
R9 in 2002 won the World Cup and got the Golden Ball and later Balon d’Or. Same with Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. Xavi nor Iniesta got the Golden Ball in 2010. That honor went to Diego Forlán hence why neither one of them got the Balon d’or. 2014 Messi got the Golden Ball so no German player won the Balon d’Or.
2018 was the most controversial because Modric did get the golden ball but didn’t win the World Cup. He won the Champions league and Super cup along with getting multiple best player awards which looks like edged everyone out that year.
All this shows that Messi deserved the Balon d’Or this year. He won the World Cup with probably the best World Cup campaign ever displayed with 5 MOTM award and the Golden Ball. Had a 63 g/a winning both league and domestic cups for PSG and multiple individual awards to add on top of it.
The Balon d’Or has always had a fair set of criteria but World Cup performances gave players more merits. Only now are people saying it’s rigged or unfair but to be honest that comes primarily from those that dislike Messi. Just like some now say that the World Cup is just a 7 game tournament.
Haaland could have possibly won it due to his performance this year, but to say Messi shouldn’t win it is wrong since his achievements and performances say otherwise.
Exactly
Exactly. Messi is good, but I think they pick favorites. And then they gave messi the 2023 and got Mbappe crying because he thought he was gonna win. Not messi.