Ballon d'Or: Who's the worthy winner?

So, the drama is all over and it ended with no surprises. Lionel Messi has now won an unprecedented fourth Ballon d’Or consecutively. Is he the greatest player of all time? I guess it’s too early to say that, but then what more do you need after four World Player of the Year titles to be regarded as the all-time great. I guess I know why is it still too early for him to be regarded as the greatest of all time. This whole matter of hailing someone as the greatest footballer of all time has always been a subjective matter, although we should still not forget that even though it’s of a subjective nature, only the one who entertains the most and is truly one of the best is regarded as an all-time great. That is why we regard Pele, Maradona and Zidane as all-time bests, leaving behind many other great players who all miss out on this elite list.

This article is not intended to take any credit away from Messi, who has a humongous list of fans including myself, but is an attempt to highlight that the best in a respective year need not always win Ballon d’Or, and could instead be the most popular one. Cristiano Ronaldo would definitely have been hoping before the gala night to take home the most precious individual trophy, having proved his credentials over the last year which helped Real Madrid snatch the La Liga title from the hands of Barcelona, which was deemed next to impossible. And it will not come as a surprise if he feels gutted after the award ceremony, as he was also instrumental for Portugal’s run to the semi-final of Euro 2012, whereas Barcelona only won Copa del Rey last year and Messi still won it.

Messi has scored 91 goals in the last calendar year, whereas Ronaldo scored more goals than Messi in 2010 but still lost it to Messi as Barcelona won numerous trophies that year. The Ballon d’Or is about individual performances in certain years like 2012, and at times about being the best in the team which achieved the most, as in case of Messi for 2010 and Fabio Cannavaro for 2006.

That is why I regard the Ballon d’Or to be more subjective than objective. To strengthen my case further , I would like to remind the readers about the omission of Diego Milito from the final list of the 23 Ballon d’Or nominees in 2010, and the omission of Wesley Sneijder from the final 3 in the same year. Milito was definitely the best forward in Europe in 2009-2010 with 22 goals in Seria A, and scored crucial goals in the Champions League against Chelsea, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, winning the historic treble with the Nerazzurri.

The biggest surprise of all was not having Sneijder in the final 3 for the award in 2010. He was named the UEFA Midfielder of the Year but not the best in the world. Sneijder was the main man behind the treble winning Inter team in 2010 and played the same role for Netherlands in reaching the finals of the World Cup in 2010, scoring five goals and receiving four Man of the Match awards in the process. He was the best combination of individual performance and team trophy collection, but was overlooked in favour of Messi, a totally unfair episode for a game which voices for fair play.

In any case, the awards have been declared and the discussion can be laid to rest for one more year. Let’s enjoy and savour the achievements of Lionel Messi, truly one of the greatest footballer of all time.