“It’s absurd” – Stan Collymore upset with Lionel Messi winning 2021 Ballon d’Or

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore thinks French Football should reconsider its selection formula, saying that Lionel Messi's 2021 Ballon d’Or win was unwarranted.

The Argentine led the vote count in Paris to lift his seventh Ballon d’Or thus becoming the most decorated player in the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five.

Although Lionel Messi helped Argentina win the Copa America, many people felt that Robert Lewandowski, who finished second, and Mohamed Salah were more deserving of the award. Both have done more in the past year.

Liverpool fans were particularly incensed that Salah was placed seventh, behind Cristiano Ronaldo.

While speaking to Empire of the Kop, Stan Collymore added his voice to the growing discord.

“It’s absurd,” Collymore told the publication.

“I think the Ballon d’Or should be for the best player in the season just gone. There is no measure whatsoever that you could say that was Cristiano Ronaldo, you certainly couldn’t say it was Lionel Messi."

The football pundit continued:

“You look at what Robert Lewandowski has done in the Bundesliga and he continues to set the bar incredibly high in terms of goalscoring.”

Collymore, who has 28 goals to his name from 64 Liverpool appearances, also believes that Mohamed Salah had a decent shot at the Ballon d’Or.

The 50-year-old added:

“Goalscoring, plus entertainment, plus scoring important goals in important games, match-winning goals, it should be Mo Salah clearly."

“You cannot honestly tell me from what Lionel Messi has or hasn’t done so far in Paris, and has or hasn’t done in the latter days of his stay at Barcelona, that it matches up equally to what Mo Salah has done in a Liverpool shirt."

"Because the simple answer is… it has not."

Gundogan agrees with the former Liverpool striker: Lionel Messi should not have won the Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi at the 65th Ballon D'Or ceremony: Theatre Du Chatelet In Paris

Manchester City vice-captain Ilkay Gundogan is of a similar opinion. He observed that the Ballon d’Or selection criteria should take into account a wider database of events, including the stats of the preceding season.

Gundogan had backed Lewandowski to win the Ballon d’Or in its 65th edition.

The midfielder said:

"I think I would go with Lewandowski, to be honest. I played with him in Dortmund so I kind of know directly how great a player he is, how dedicated he is, also, to his work."

"The fact is that last year there was no Ballon d’Or winner and he probably would have deserved it last year. It didn’t affect him, to be honest, that he didn’t win."

"I read a quote of Kevin (De Bruyne), I think he summed it up quite well that in the last couple of years he is probably the one player who deserves it most and I would agree completely with that and I would hand it out to him."

Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich win the 2019 Champions League, Bundesliga, Club World Cup and DFL-Supercup to emerge as the firm favorite to win his first Ballon d’Or.

He garnered 55 goals and 10 assists in domestic and European competitions but was unfortunately left devastated after French Football controversially canceled the 2020 award amidst the Corona Virus pandemic.

Salah and Lewandowski have picked up their goal-scoring knack from where they left off. So far, Salah has an 19 goals and seven assists from 19 apperances in all competitions, while Lewandowski boasts of 25 goals and two assists in 20 games.

By comparison, Lionel Messi has a far inferior reading of four goals and three assists in 12 games in the 2021/22 season.