In two days time the world of football shall see who the best footballer in the world is as the Ballon d’Or will be handed out. Since the merger of France Football’s Ballon d’Or and FIFA’s World Player of the Year awards in 2010, only one man has been handed the Ballon d’Or award. That man is, of course, Lionel Messi, but this year he’s not the favourite to win football’s most sought after trophy for individual talent.
Runner-up for the last two occasions, Cristiano Ronaldo is considered the overwhelming favourite by many to receive the award after a magnificent 2013. Nobody should rule out the winner of UEFA’s Best Player in Europe winner either as Franck Ribery has also had an incredible 2013 too. Needless to say that this is probably the first Ballon d’Or award ceremony that will be worth keeping an eye on this year as all three men have a good chance of being crowned the best in the world. Here’s a breakdown of the three contenders and why they deserve to win.
Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina)
The three-time winner of the accolade is for once not considered the best in the world. Messi had a brilliant 2012, breaking goal-scoring records for Barcelona and therefore one could consider his 2013 as a disappointment that he did not reach the same levels as the previous year. Yet again, one does have to wonder what he could have achieved if he were not blighted with injury in the latter part of last year.
With that all being said, he is still one of the most dominant players in the world. He ended 2013 with 39 goals from 39 appearances for Barcelona and 6 goals from 7 games for Argentina. The latter for me is an important statistic because it truly goes against what the critics have said about the lack of goals he has scored for his country.
An article on the BBC recently questioned how vital Messi is for the Barcelona team considering their success without him in the last few games, but he does create chances and has got a few assists more than Ronaldo last season (Ronaldo has more this season in fairness). I still think he has a huge chance of winning the award despite Ronaldo having a better year. A Spanish news agency, Agencia News, has some pedigree in predicting the awards (or maybe knowing in their case) and claimed Messi will win. It would not surprise me if they were right once again.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portgual)
When I used to hear the debate between Messi and Ronaldo, I have always claimed that Messi was the better player. I still think he’s a more complete player than Ronaldo, but since this is judged on a year-by-year basis then Ronaldo deserves his plaudits more than anyone. If Messi’s 2012 was perfect then Ronaldo’s 2013 is probably the closest you are going to get to defining a perfect year.
He has scored an incredible 69 goals in 60 appearances for club and country, and Ronaldo’s performances have been a saving grace for a Real Madrid side that can only be described as underwhelming. He has also put on my favourite footballing performance from an individual this year in a World Cup playoff against Sweden. He has carried Real Madrid and Portugal to success and preventing them from being mediocre units.
Ronaldo deserves this award more than anyone right now. He has already placed himself amongst other Real Madrid legends this year when he surpassed Ferenc Puskas’ goal-scoring tally for the club.
Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France)
Normally I would not consider the third man between Messi and Ronaldo as a contender. However, Ribery was shocking won UEFA’S Best Player in Europe award for the 2012-13 season after being an essential part of Bayern Munich’s treble success including victory in the Champions League. Ribery won 36 votes whilst Messi got 14 and Ronaldo, the “favourite”, won only three.
He only managed 10 goals and 16 assists in the Bundesliga last season, but considering he only made 24 appearances due to an injury-hit season, his impact on Bayern Munich has been sublime and it’s quite astonishing that journalists voted him as the best in Europe. He has already surpassed his overall goal tally from last season, this season in half the appearances, which is quite an achievement for a winger.
However, Bayern Munich’s successes, just like Barcelona’s successes, do not rely on one man. And I would also argue that there are probably more influential players than Ribery that deserve to be nominated. Ribery, is definitely a top ten talent, but he is not worthy of inclusion in my opinion.
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