"It's really stupid" - Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf says the concept of Ballon d'Or 'doesn't make any sense'

Former Chelsea star Frank Leboeuf has criticized the idea of awarding the Ballon d'Or to individual players in a sport that is regarded as a team effort.

Leboeuf has compared the Ballon d'Or with awards given to musicians. The former Chelsea player believes that if an elite musician wins an individual award, his group would not react to it in a positive manner. Leboeuf thinks the Ballon d'Or could have the same impact on football clubs.

Speaking to ESPN (via The Chelsea Chronicle), he said:

"I don’t really care about that. Musicians, they have an award every year. What if during the Beatles or the Rolling Stones, let’s say John Lennon or Mick Jagger won a personal award for their year of being the greatest musician or singer? How would the Beatles react to that? That’s the same thing for me. That’s stupid."

“That’s really stupid to give a personal, individual award into a collective sport. Like it would be stupid to give John Lennon when he was belonging to the Beatles an award only for himself. That’s what I think about the Ballon d'Or. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

In modern times the Ballon d'Or is regarded by many players and fans alike as the pinnacle of football. The one who wins the prestigious 'Golden Ball' is regarded as the best player in the world.

The likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have made the Ballon d'Or an extremely popular award, with fans waiting each year to find out who will win the prized accolade.

Five Chelsea players have been nominated for the 2021 Ballon d'Or

As many as five Chelsea players have been nominated for the 2021 Ballon d'Or following their UEFA Champions League triumph last season. Nominees from the European champions include Cesar Azpilicueta, Mason Mount, Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Romelu Lukaku, who has been nominated for his exploits with Inter Milan.

It is worth noting that no Chelsea player has lifted the Ballon d'Or so far. The closest a player from Chelsea has come to winning the famous award was Frank Lampard when he came runner-up to Barcelona's Ronaldinho in 2005.

Jorginho has been tipped by many as a favorite to win the 2021 Ballon d'Or. However, the Euro 2020 winning midfielder will face tough competition from Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and PSG's Lionel Messi.

Other candidates with an outside chance of winning the Ballon d'Or include Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne.