5 legends who think Lionel Messi shouldn’t have won 2021 Ballon d’Or

#3 Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid manager)

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti is another legend of the game who believes Lionel Messi didn't deserve the Ballon d'Or award this year.

The Real Madrid head coach is looking to become the first manager in history to win league titles in five different countries. He said that he would have voted for one of his team's players - Karim Benzema - instead. Ancelotti was quoted as saying in this regard:

"If Messi has been the best player? I have a conflict because I'm at Real Madrid, I cannot vote for one who is out (laughs). I would have chosen Benzema 1st, Vinicius 2nd, Courtois 3rd, Casemiro 4th, Kroos 5th... if Messi is the best, it's a personal opinion."

Among the quintet, only Benzema was on the shortlist for this year's award. The Frenchman has been on a tear for club and country this year. However, the absence of a major title meant Benzema only finished fourth in the final reckoning.

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#2 Lothar Matthaus (1990 Ballon d'Or winner)

Lothar Matthaus is one of Germany's greatest players

Lothar Matthaus is one of the most storied names in the history of Germany and Bayern Munich.

He is perhaps best known for leading Germany to their third FIFA World Cup triumph in 1990. For his exploits that year, Matthaus won the Ballon d'Or award. However, the former winner believes that the 2021 edition of the award didn't go to the right player.

Matthaus said that Lewandowski should have won the 2021 Ballon d'Or award because of his exploits in the last two years. He told Sky Germany in this regard:

“Honestly, I don't understand a thing anymore. With all due respect to Messi and the other great named players, none deserved it as much as Lewandowski. He is unmatched in the past two years. But even if you only take into account 2021, he is better than the rest."

"He broke Gerd Müller's record of the century, again tops the list of top scorers in all competitions and has overtaken everyone nationally and internationally this year as well."

Matthaus said that Messi's Copa America 2021 triumph shouldn't have usurped Lewandowski in the final reckoning, saying:

“Messi may have won the Copa America with Argentina, but he is completely pale in Paris. Benzema also played a great year, but left empty-handed with Real. Salah has been great in recent months but experienced a long period of drought at the start of the year."

"Jorginho has of course won two very big titles with Chelsea and Italy, but is nowhere near as remarkable as the Bayern striker and practically week after week. And Ronaldo was not as consistent and extraordinary as Lewandowski. I don't understand why he didn't win," argued the German legend.

Matthaus may have made a rather fair point. Lewandowski has been on a hot streak for club and country since last year. After missing the Ballon d'Or award last year, which was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewandowski produced the numbers to win it this year too.

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#1 Toni Kroos (Real Madrid star, 2014 World Cup winner)

Toni Kroos was not impressed with the 2021 Ballon d'Or vote

Toni Kroos is widely regarded as one of the best central midfielders in the game at the moment. The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner is one of the few players to win the Champions League with two different clubs.

Like the others on this list, the German is also of the opinion that Messi didn't deserve the Ballon d'Or award this year. He was quoted as saying in this regard, on a podcast:

"It's absolutely not deserved. There is no doubt that Messi, with Cristiano, has been the player of the last decade, but this year there should've been others ahead of him."

Kroos picked his teammate Benzema for the award, although the French star eventually finished fourth.