Report claims Cristiano Ronaldo winning 5 Ballon d'Or awards is a disservice to Lionel Messi

Report claims Cristiano Ronaldo winning 5 Ballon d'Or awards is a disservice to Lionel Messi

  • Lionel Messi became a strong contender for the Ballon d'Or award this year after winning the Copa America title
  • The Argentine will battle a few other football stars for the prestigious prize at the end of the year
  • Spanish news media Marca claims the attacker deserves to win the title as long as he is still playing

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Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has been tipped to win this year's Ballon d'Or award following his Copa America triumph.

The 34-year-old scored four goals and assisted five others as La Albiceleste claim their first silverware in over 25 years.

However, having already won six Ballon d'Or awards earlier in his career, Madrid-based news outlet Marca claims the Argentine deserves the prestigious prize for as long as he is still playing.

As Long as Lionel Messi is Playing, the Ballon d'Or is His,' Madrid-Based Newspaper Hails Argentina Icon
Lionel Messi presenting his sixth Ballon d'Or award to the fans at Camp Nou. Photo by Josep LAGO / AFP
Source: Getty Images

The publication further stated that the 34-year-old could be regarded as the 'greatest of all time' regardless of whoever he comes up against as reported by a football website 90mins.

Read also

Chelsea star reveals why he deserves Ballon d'Or award more than Messi, Ronaldo, others

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What the news outlet said

“Forget everything else, the Ballon d’Or is Messi’s. As long as Messi plays at the top, there is no footballer out there who should win the Ballon d’Or. Messi is the greatest footballer of his generation, and probably also of all time.”

Messi's arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award five times but the Spanish news outlet believes that is a disrespect to the Argentine who they refer to as the greatest of his generation.

About Cristiano Ronaldo

“That Cristiano Ronaldo – with five – is even within touching distance of Messi’s six so far does a disservice to the Argentine, who has been far and away the greatest player of his generation and arguably of all time.”

The Barcelona captain will be up against some fine football stars including Chelsea midfielder Jorginho who also merit the award but votes will justify the winner in the end.

Read also

Barcelona star Aguero reveals why Copa America was more important to Messi than any other trophy

The attacker scored 39 goals and registered 14 assists in all competitions for the Catalans last season despite their failure to land the Spanish League title.

Zola backs Jorginho for Ballon d'Or award

Legit.ng earlier reported that former Chelsea forward Gianfranco Zola believes Jorginho deserves to win this year's Ballon d'Or award ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The midfielder is among the contenders for the award, owing to his incredible display for the Blues in their Champions League triumph over Man City and the European Championship glory with Italy.

He played a central role in the Premier League outfit's squad that beat rivals Man City to storm to European glory.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Oluwatomiwa Babalola avatar

Oluwatomiwa Babalola Oluwatomiwa Babalola is a former sports editor at Legit.ng. He has over eight years of field and office experience in the media industry. He graduated from the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in 2014 with HND in Mass Communication.