Sports
Jordi Alba calls Ballon d’Or ‘a lie’ for snubbing Lionel Messi
Barcelona defender Jordi Alba has described the Ballon d’Or as ‘a lie’ after once again overlooking Lionel Messi this year.
The full-back was highly critical of the award in the aftermath of Messi striking two free-kicks in his side’s 4-0 victory in Saturday night’s Catalan derby against Espanyol.
Messi came fifth in the Ballon d’Or list, behind World Cup winning duo of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in fourth and third positions respectively.
The Argentine’s long term rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, finished second to the winner, Luka Modric.
“The Ballon d’Or is a lie,” Alba told reporters, as cited by ESPN FC.
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“Leo’s unique, he’s the best ever. He’s been the best by some difference for 12, 14 years.
“There are campaigns for other players, who are very good and deserve [recognition]. But in the end, it’s a prize for the best, not for [team] trophies.
“They’ve not been fair with Messi. I think he finished fifth? There are campaigns in Madrid. If Cristiano had been at Madrid, maybe the press and the fans would have wanted him to win it, but he’s gone and in exchange it’s Modric.
“Modric is a great player and he had a great season. He’s one of the best in the world, but the No. 1 is Messi.
“I don’t even look at it anymore, not at the Team of the Season or the Ballon d’Or. Honestly, it’s [getting] worse all the time.”
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