I’m trying to be completely objective if the fanboys can please try to do the same. In 2020 and 2021 lewandowski was the best player in the world winning the sextuple one year and then breaking a 40 year old bundesliga scoring record. I get the award was cancelled in 2020 but for 21 the narrative was messi finally got his international trophy so he has to win balon d’or. But Argentina literally have the most copa Americas in history they won it 14 times before messi, he had 4 tries in 6 years to win it. 15, 16, 19, and 21. So was it really that impressive that he won a tournament that him not winning up to that point was literally a failure because of how good Argentina were historically? Im not trying to argue about who the best player ever is or what he’s done in the past. Can someone just objectively tell me that it was impressive and not just journalists being emotional and voting for their favorite player and the narrative instead of the actual best player?
The problem with this post (and the majority of modern fans these days) is 1 sided bias towards goals when it comes to regarding the best player award. Goals are important and decide the victory, but goal scoring is not the only aspect of the game. Defense and playmaking are equally important and integral parts of football.
Compare Lewandowski and Messi’s stats from 2021. It will become pretty evident that Lewandowski scored more goals, but Messi himself scored a decent number of goals (he won the Pichichi that year). But Messi wasn’t just scoring goals. He was also playmaking at a high level. Not to mention, he won the highest MOTM that year.
As for Copa, then it is an international trophy, and of course, it will carry the weightage at least equal to UCL and it was Argentina’s first major trophy in 28 years so it became even more crucial. Add Messi’s Copa POTT and Top Scorer award, his case becomes equally or more solid than Lewandowskis.
People regarding this often argue that Messi also won Ballon D’or in 2012 simply for breaking the calendar year goal tally record. But they forget he was also playmaking during that time as well. Assisting, making through balls and key passes. He was basically playing 3 positions that year (10, False 9 and 8), and he was unplayable in all those positions.
Gerd Muller made the season and calendar year goal tally record in 1972. But Beckenbauer won Ballon D’or that year because while Muller was the best striker during that year, Beckenbauer was the best player overall. Such was the case of 2021.
Bro in 2012 he was playing with the greatest midfield of all time. I don’t understand why people think Messi somehow is the only reason teams succeed he’s a great player that shines more when he has other great players around, he’s not playing by himself out there he had stacked teams for over a decade. I think the fact that he didn’t win a UCL after Neymar left and the midfield disbanded kind of showed his limit without an amazing team around him.
That World Cup win in his mid 30s with a team that was not a bookmakers favorite going into the tournament really shows his “limits without an amazing team”… 🙄
A team in which every player plays in europes top 5 leagues and was unbeaten for 35 games. They literally were the first or second for bookies from the beginning of the tournament.
Trying to talk reason on the subject is impossible my friend. The Messi fans can’t handle the truth, and they will outnumber everyone else. He is good, but look what happened when he left Barcelona. He needs a system built around him, and he can’t succeed without it. But the truth is too much for them, and that’s why he wins the ballon Dior yet again. Look at it as a way of creating a story, where Messi is the hero. Him winning his last golden ball will be the perfect way of ending that story, or movie in the future. His time in PSG will be forgotten, the team that couldn’t carry him. Factos is factos.