adminLONDON. — The Ballon d’Or may be the most prestigious individual prize a footballer can win, but a deeper look at the voting leaves you feeling bemused and frustrated. Cristiano Ronaldo may have quite rightly been voted the world’s best player on Monday night — his second consecutive win and third overall — and gushed about Lionel Messi, hailing his great rival for helping him become a better player.
But the Real Madrid superstar could not bring himself to include Messi in his top three players in the world, instead choosing to opt for teammates Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema. Equally Messi, despite saying Ronaldo deserved to win, voted for Argentine teammates Angel di Maria and Javier Mascherano and Barcelona buddy Andres Iniesta.
Are the world’s two best players really that petty that they can’t recognise each other’s achievements on paper?
But let’s be clear, Ronaldo and Messi are not the only ones who simply “vote for the boys”.
Vincent Kompany, captain of Belgium, deemed international teammates Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard as the world’s two best players with Arjen Robben third. No Ronaldo, no Messi, no Manuel Neuer. Really, Vincent?
Diego Godin, the Uruguay captain, opted for former Atletico Madrid teammates Diego Costa and Courtois ahead of Robben. Again, no sign of the eventual top three.
Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteigher went a step further picking international and Bayern teammates Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Thomas Mueller. The trio of course won a Bundesliga title and a World Cup, but did all three really outshine Ronaldo and Messi? Unfortunately, the list goes on.
Radamel Falcao, captain of Colombia, put above everyone else James Rodriguez — of, yes you guessed it, Colombia. Wales captain Ashley Williams opted for Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie went for Robben and Hugo Lloris deemed French teammate Benzema the world’s second best player. Ultimately what Monday night proved is that football is full of politicking of the highest order, arguably as bad as that seen in Eurovision.
SELECTED CAPTAIN VOTES FOR BALLON D’OR
Lionel Messi (Argentina captain) – 1. Angel di Maria 2. Andres Iniesta 3. Javier Mascherano
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal captain) – 1. Sergio Ramos 2. Gareth Bale 3. Karim Benzema
Iker Casillas (Spain captain) – 1. Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Sergio Ramos 3. Thomas Mueller
Neymar (Brazil captain) – 1. Lionel Messi 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Javier Mascherano
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany captain)– 1. Manuel Neuer 2. Philipp Lahm 3. Thomas Mueller
Robin van Persie (Holland captain) – 1. Arjen Robben 2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic 2. Manuel Neuer
Diego Godin (Uruguay captain) – 1. Diego Costa 2.Thibaut Courtois 3. Arjen Robben
Ashley Williams (Wales captain) – 1. Gareth Bale 2. Bastian Schweinsteiger 3. Eden Hazard
Vincent Kompany (Belgium captain) – 1.Thibaut Courtois 2. Eden Hazard 3. Arjen Robben
Radamel Falcao (Colombia captain) – 1. James Rodriguez 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Angel di Maria
Wayne Rooney (England captain) – 1. Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Toni Kroos 3. Gareth Bale
Hugo Lloris (France captain) – 1. Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Karim Benzema 3. Manuel Neuer
SELECTED MANAGER VOTES FOR BALLON D’OR
Gerardo Martino (Argentina coach) – 1. Lionel Messi 2. Angel di Maria 3. Javier Mascherano
Marc Wilmots (Belgium coach) – 1. Arjen Robben 2. Manuel Neuer 3. Thibaut Courtois
Dunga (Brazil coach) – 1. Neymar 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Jose Pekerman (Colombia coach) – 1. Jamez Rodriguez 2. Lionel Messi 3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Didier Deschamps (France coach) – 1. Cristiano Ronaldo 2. Manuel Neuer 3. Karim Benzema
Joachim Low (Germany coach) – 1. Manuel Neuer 2. Philipp Lahm 3. Bastian Schweinsteiger
Guus Hiddink (Holland coach) – 1. Arjen Robben 2. Thomas Mueller 3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Jurgen Klinsmann (USA coach) – 1. Manuel Neuer 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Arjen Robben
Chris Coleman (Wales coach) – 1. Gareth Bale 2. Cristiano Ronaldo 3. Bastian Schweinsteiger
PS. WHAT WHERE THESE GUYS THINKING?
Away from the political and tactical voting, there were some eyebrow raising decisions by certain managers and captains. Here we look at the more questionable voting.
Roy Hodgson (England coach) – 1. Javier Mascherano 2. Phillip Lahm 3. Manuel Neuer
Prince Alban Oniangue (Congo captain) – 1. Lionel Messi 2 Yaya Toure 3 Paul Pogba
Ketsada Souksavanh (Laos captain) – 1. Manuel Neuer 2 Mario Goetze 3. Arjen Robben
Michael F. Rabeson (Madagascar captain) – 1. Philipp Lahm 2. Javier Mascherano 3. Cristiano Ronaldo
Michael Mifsud (Malta captain) – 1. Gareth Bale 2. Arjen Robben 3. Lionel Messi
Anthony Griffith (Montserrat captain) – 1. Diego Costa 2. Eden Hazard 3. Neymar
Ali Dayem Bin Haji (Brunei coach) – 1. Neymar 2. James Rodriguez 3. Thomas Mueller
Finke Volker (Cameroon coach) – 1. Arjen Robben 2. James Rodriguez 3. Yaya Toure
Sixto Vizuete (Ecuador coach) – 1. Toni Kroos 2. Paul Pogba 3. James Rodriguez
Javier Aguirre (Japan coach) – 1.Thibaut Courtois 2. Manuel Neuer 3. Andres Iniesta
Pietro Ghedin (Malta coach) – 1. Mario Goetze 2. Thomas Mueller 2. Arjen Robben
Saidou Diabate (Niger coach) – 1. Manuel Neuer 2. Bastian Schweinsteiger 3. Yaya Toure — Mailonline
Online Reporter