Comment: Messi and no one far behind him. He deserved the Ballon d’Or more than anyone else. Stealing? No way

Lionel Messi won his eighth and probably last Ballon d’Or on Monday night. It’s going to be extremely hard to beat him, if anyone ever can. Oddly enough, there is a lot of doubt as to whether he should have won the most prestigious individual award. Was it a steal? No way. Why was it?

Monday night was the culmination of a great football tale. The greatest footballer in history went to Paris to collect his eighth career Ballon d’Or, rewriting history once again, which is actually routine for him.

Lionel Messi beat such aces as Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri. Haaland in particular has had the season of his life, which is why many are angry that he didn’t win. There is talk on social media of a steal, but it didn’t happen.

If we look at the stats, Haaland beats the Argentine at most in club trophies and goals scored. But that would be the end of it.

With a bit of hyperbole, you could say that when Nor was accepting the award for top scorer and a montage of all his goals was played, it was from said montage that you could deduce why he couldn’t win the Ballon d’Or.

Haaland is undoubtedly an outstanding striker, but the Ballon d’Or is an award for the best footballer. It is not judged solely on the number of goals, most of which, moreover, were certainly not spectacular.

In contrast, the compilation of goals, actions and assists that Messi is responsible for? Proof that he is simply miles ahead of anyone else. He creates, he scores goals from standard situations, from mid-range, after individual actions, he passes them on, he has an incredible footballing mindset.

Messi is miles away from everyone

There is a lot of talk that Lionel Messi has had an average, if not below average season now. Yet, in terms of goals and assists, he is more or less nowhere behind Haaland or Mbappe. He more than competes with them.

Yes, Haaland won a treble, it’s just that most of the trophies Manchester City would probably have won without him. Plus, in the big games, Nor has been invisible. He doesn’t make his own chances, he’s dependent on others. Like De Bruyne.

But would Argentina have won the World Cup without Messi? Everyone can answer for themselves, however, Messi was an absolutely crucial factor in the South American country’s run in Qatar and was rightly voted the best player of the tournament.

Mbappé also shone at the World Cup, but the difference in the quality of the France and Argentina line-ups once again only confirms the exceptionalism of the current Inter Miami star. And it is worth mentioning that he is 36 years old.

More deserving of the trophy than Haaland are others

Others deserve the trophy more than Haaland. For example, the aforementioned Mbappé, who definitely has more footballing quality and watching him play, we can see that he excels in multiple aspects of the game and can be absolutely pivotal for his team in the right circumstances.

Same with De Bruyne or Rodri, for example. Both were absolutely vital factors in Manchester City’s quest for the trophy. So Haaland was absolutely rightly given the top scorer award. After all, it was created specifically to distinguish between the best footballer and the best goalscorer.

Football has become a game that is too focused on numbers, and because of that, players who do not score as many goals but excel in many other areas are less likely to win the Ballon d’Or.

Messi, however, reigns supreme in many aspects of the game and as a bonus has incredible numbers. That’s why even now he is miles ahead of all his competitors. There has never been a player like him, quite possibly never will be.

Furthermore, questioning the French league is rather pointless. It is a competition that has great quality, even if it does not have ideal results in European cups. Even the vaunted Premier League doesn’t exactly roar in Europe year after year, so it is an irrelevant argument.

Words about stealing make no sense. There is simply no footballer in the world who can come close to Messi’s qualities. As the famous coach Pep Guardiola said, Lionel Messi’s worst season is the best for all other footballers.

People have become accustomed to Messi’s great performances and incredible numbers. So they expect him to have them all the time. But of course, that is unthinkable for his age. On the contrary, he deserves admiration for being able to adapt to losing speed, playing more from deep in the box and still reigning supreme.

Source: Ballon d’Or