Kroos argues that Messi doesn’t deserve to win the Ballon d’Or and Ronaldo is better this year
Lionel Messi’s seventh Ballon d’Or success was “totally unworthy” and Cristiano Ronaldo has excelled over the past year, according to Real Madrid star Toni Kroos.
Messi won the 2021 Ballon d’Or on Monday night after another stellar year for club and country, which saw him score 42 goals while getting his hands on the Copa del Rey and Copa America titles.
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However, Kroos does not believe the Argentina international, who joined Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona in the summer, should have finished ahead of several other names in the final vote.
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The Real Madrid midfielder said on his official podcast: “It’s completely not worth it.
“There is no doubt that Messi, with Cristiano [Ronaldo], was the player of the last decade, but this year there should have been others ahead of him. “
When pressed about who he felt deserved praise this time, Kroos singled out his Madrid colleague Karim Benzema before emphasizing that Ronaldo should have ended up ahead of Messi after the effects that Ronaldo had had. he has since returning to Manchester United.
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“For me, Karim would be number one if you were really looking for last year’s individual player of the year, because I could see from up close what an outstanding player he was,” Kroos said. to add.
“When I see how many decisive goals Cristiano has scored recently – Manchester United are still in the Champions League thanks to him alone – Cristiano must have come before Messi in my eyes as well.”
His former Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas, Iker Casillas, shares Kroos’ outrage over the decision to award Messi again.
“It’s getting harder and harder for me to believe in football awards,” the former Spain goalkeeper wrote on Twitter.
“For me, Messi, he’s one of the five best players in history but you have to know how to list the most outstanding players in a season. It’s not that difficult.”
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Gianluigi Donnarumma, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are also among those who must be content with their place behind Messi in the top 10.
However, Robert Lewandowski’s runner-up position proved to be the most controversial, with many pundits previously backing him for the award after another prolific 12 months at Bayern Munich.
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The Polish forward was also the favorite for the 2020 Ballon d’Or before it was canceled due to the coronavirus, and Messi expressed his disappointment towards his colleague in his latest acceptance speech.
“I want to tell Robert that it is an honor to play against him,” said the former Barcelona captain. “He deserved to win it last year.”
