Lionel Messi has claimed the Fifa Ballon d’Or award ahead of his Barcelona teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
The Argentinian ace has long been touted as the world’s best player and this award just enhances his reputation in the world game.
Superstar
He is surely the most gifted footballer of his generation and at just 23 years of age too.
He is without doubt one of the most humble superstars that has ever graced a football field. He now has to be ranked alongside the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona as the best to ever play the game.
Acclaim
The award is voted for by journalists, national team bosses and captain of national sides. It shows how highly he is rated by the football community as a whole. I’m sure if the award was voted for by the fans that result would have probably been the same.
Unlucky
He claimed the award ahead of playmaker Andres Iniesta and midfield general Xavi. Both can consider themselves highly unlucky not to have won the award. Any of the three would have been worthy winners.
Xavi has been a fantastic performer for Barcelona for over a decade. And he was also the heartbeat of the Spanish side which won the World Cup in South Africa this summer. His vision and passing has been a vital part of Barca’s fantastic performances in the last few years.
Barcelona are not the same team without the midfielder in the side. At 30 years-of age it’s probably the last chance he will get to win the award. It would have been a fitting acknowledgement to a glorious career. The home-grown hero has been the unsung hero of the Barca team for a decade and deserved to be in the last three.
Midfield playmaker Andres Iniesta is probably seen as a more flamboyant player than Xavi but both have their roles in both the Spanish and Barca teams. Iniesta was also a key part of the World Cup winning team, scoring the winning goal in the final against Holland.
Iniesta is a true Barcelona player through and through. He came through at La Masia just Xavi and just like his Barca teammates is calm and composed on the ball with superb control.
He is also a scorer of vital goals. He is seen as Xavi’s partner in crime in the Barcelona midfield. Iniesta will no doubt get another crack at the award but will have to perform miracles to beat his Barca teammate Messi to the award in future years though.
Brilliant
Despite Xavi and Iniesta’s best efforts you can’t take anything away from the little Argentinian star. He scored an incredible 60 goals for club and country in 2010 and probably created the same amount of chances for his teammates.
Barcelona
It is a testament to Barcelona that the top three players nominated for the prestigious Ballon d’Or came through the clubs youth academy at La Masia.
It’s the Barcelona way of bringing through top players from their youth system into the first team. Barcelona has a particular way of doing things and it’s now become the envy of every top football club in the world.
The Barcelona way has become the best way in recent years and you can’t really argue with a system that has produced so many top players in the last decade.
Future
It’s incredible to think that Messi is just 23 years-old. He is likely to be challenging for this award for years to come. There will be few players good enough or determined enough to challenge the Argentinian international for future awards.
Did Messi deserve to win the Fifa Ballon d-Or?
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