Zlatan Ibrahimovic names the player who deserved Ballon d'Or instead of Lionel Messi

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has questioned Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or win in Paris on Sunday. The former Barcelona forward feels that Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski should have won the award instead.

Talking about the worthy winner of the 2021 Ballon d'Or, Zlatan said:

"Leo (Messi) lives for football. But Lewandowski deserved the Ballon d’Or this year."

Ibrahimovic's opinion has been echoed by several fans and critics alike. They feel Lewandowski was snubbed because of Messi's ties to Paris and his overall popularity in the game.

Robert Lewandowski scored 48 goals and made 9 assists in 40 games for Bayern Munich last season. He won the Bundesliga and broke the 40-year-old German league scoring record set by Gerd Muller.

Messi's victory was largely propelled by his Copa America win. The Paris Saint-Germain forward has now won seven Ballon d'Ors, two more than his fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

Asked to compare the two generational forwards, Zlatan said:

"They are both very strong. I also say Messi because we played together."

Mauricio Pochettino praises Messi for his Ballon d'Or victory

PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino has backed Messi's victory at the Ballon d'Or ceremony. The Argentine tactician said:

"Firstly, I want to publicly congratulate Leo and his family,’ Pochettino told reporters. "Winning the Ballon d’Or for a seventh time is an extraordinary achievement."

The PSG manager backed Messi to go on and win his eighth Ballon d'Or as well. Pochettino added:

"I hope he takes advantage of it and that it’s the first day to work on getting the eighth. To have players with six and seven Ballon d’Or awards is something extraordinary and we are delighted to have him here every day. We hope at the end of the year to also have collective trophies beyond the individual trophies."

Asked to comment on the debate over reports of Lewandowski being a better candidate for the award than Lionel Messi, Pochettino said:

"Messi completely deserved it and there is no debate. Of course, in other countries there may be criticism, but he completely deserved it."

The Ballon d'Or award is given by France Football. 180 journalists vote on the final list of players to decide the eventual winner of the award.

Robert Lewandowski won the best striker of the year award in Paris on Sunday, while Gianluigi Donnarumma won the best goalkeeper award.