adminMichel Platini does not believe that either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi deserves to win this year’s Ballon d’Or, with the Uefa president arguing that the award should go to one of Germany’s World Cup winners. Ronaldo is the favourite to land the prestigious prize, given his record-breaking goalscoring exploits during Real Madrid’s Champions League success last season, while Messi is also considered a major contender after inspiring Argentina to the final of Brazil 2014.
However, Platini believes that a member of Joachim Low’s World Cup-winning squad deserves the individual accolade.
“I don’t vote for the Ballon d’Or but, in principle, [in a World Cup year] it’s a player who has produced big performances in the tournament who wins it,” the Uefa president told beIn Sports. “So, it should be a German this year.
“It was like that until 2010, when Messi won, in spite of having had an average World Cup, so nothing is certain for this year.
“However, what is certain is that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world, along with Lionel Messi. There’s no doubt about that.”
Platini, of course, lifted the Ballon d’Or three times during his playing days, winning the award for the first time in 1983 and retaining it for the next two years.
The former France international believes that the game has changed a lot since his heyday, particularly from a players’ perspective.
“Football has taken another dimension in the last 20 years,” Platini mused.
“The superstar status players enjoy is proportional to that. Players benefit in every way.
“In return, though, they have more orders to follow than in the past. In my time, we were freer.” — Goal
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