Messi and the great Ballon d’or robbery
SBayern Munich striker’s 70 goals in 63 games were deemed enough only for runner-up
omeone call Interpol. Robert Lewandowski has been robbed. The incident occurred in Paris at a glitzy ceremony on Monday night. Witnesses believed they were attending the Ballon d’or awards, but shocked onlookers soon realised they had, in fact, been duped into attending the annual Lionel Messi tribute night.
Do not misunderstand me. No player deserves a star-studded evening of sycophancy more than the greatest footballer who ever lived. We should all bow at his feet. But must it be every 12 months? And under the dubious guise of the most coveted of all player-of-theyear awards? According to Gabriel Hanot, the football pioneer who created the Ballon d’or, the honour is presented to the player deemed to have been “the best over the previous year”. Now it seems to be more about life-time achievements.
On that criterion, perhaps Pele should come out of retirement and play a few games in 2022. He is bound to get a few votes.
OK, Messi’s latest success is not the greatest injustice in the accolade’s history. He did lift the Copa del Rey and led Argentina to the Copa America last summer, after all – wonderful achievements in an era-defining career. To demean any of his successes is akin to heresy.
Yet even Messi’s army of apologists, frantically defending Monday’s win, must acknowledge this as the most hollow of his seven Ballons, especially after his inauspicious start at Paris Stgermain.
No nominee is unluckier than Lewandowski, whose 70 goals in 63 games since the start of last season were deemed enough only for runner-up. A cynic might say the Bayern Munich and Poland striker’s big mistake was granting the organiser, France Football, an exclusive interview in 2020, when the ceremony was cancelled. His timing with his lobbying and PR is evidently not as good as in the penalty area. Messi did his last one with the magazine in early October.
Lewandowski is not the only one who must be wondering what more he can do when the voters are more obsessed with big names than what actually happened in the games.
Chelsea’s Jorginho won the Champions League and Euro 2020 in a couple of months, and while there are those who say N’golo Kante’s influence on the European Cup’s destination was limited to a couple of fixtures, surely the standard and importance of those games merited him finishing higher than fifth?
As for Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah finishing below Cristiano Ronaldo… the Ballon d’or voting patterns seem to have descended to the level of Hollywood’s Golden Globes, or the Eurovision Song Contest.
In fact, the only consolation after a ghastly ceremony was the clash of egos as Ronaldo whined and delivered a statement so cynically timed it was impossible to read out loud without blistering the tongue.
Ronaldo took exception to an interview given by the France Football editor-in-chief in which it was claimed that the Manchester United and Portugal forward’s main ambition was to win the Ballon more times than his great rival Messi. The interview was three days ago, so it was quite the coincidence Ronaldo posting his spiky response as Messi was arriving on the red carpet.
Ronaldo should not fret. The foundations are in place for a fresh Ballon d’or assault next year, regardless of how he performs over the next 12 months. If Messi can still win after his contribution so far in Paris, Ronaldo could spend the rest of the season on the bench under Ralf Rangnick and still make the shortlist.
Like the rest of us, he may be resigned to 2022 being a fait accompli. “We hope to see you next year for the eighth one,” was the Ballon host’s closing statement. And with that, the heart of every world-class footballer sank.
Same again for another heartwarming tribute with the family next year then, Lionel. You deserve it for everything you have done in your career. It would be so much better if – in 12 months’ time – you merit it for everything you have done in 2022. But it probably will not matter.