Messi wins the 2023 Ballon'Dor

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67232561

Haaland was robbed. He wins a treble, scored so many goals, created so many assists, and played a huge part in winning those trebles.

I'm more concerned with how incredibly uninteresting it is to hand the reward to Messi for the 8th time during a year where I don't personally think he was the most deserving winner of it. If that somehow makes me a CR7 or Haaland fanboy, then so be it. The intangible criteria for winning the award makes it hard to take seriously.

All media are the same. If you are the person who is "chosen" by the media to represent their agenda, you will almost always win unless they absolutely cannot do it. So if there's any possible justification for Messi to win, he'll win it. It doesn't matter how anyone else does.

Haaland should have won. This isn't a lifetime achievement award or a popularity contest... it's supposed to be about the player who performed the best over the entire season.

I think Modric benefited from their lifetime achievement approach, as well. I wasn't overly impressed with him in the last world cup, aside from his screamer against Argentina. And they didn't win it either. He had some high-level, isolated performances for us in our Champions League winning campaign, but showed clear signs of very fluctuating consistency in the league. I think that was another example of "you can't argue that he doesn't deserve it", but as much as I appreciate him as a player, I don't think he was the best player that year either.

Davis wrote:Haaland was robbed. He wins a treble, scored so many goals, created so many assists, and played a huge part in winning those trebles.

Messi was easily the best performing player last season, more important, and won more.


Also WC(golden ball)+League+Supercup > CL(Rodri won best player)+League+Cup.

Didn’t They change Ballon d'or voting deadline in 2013, so that Ronaldo can win it. Ribery got robbed in daylight and it was non world cup year.

Till now, this is the only time in history of the award they changed voting deadline. There is no bigger robbery than this. And there is no explanation why would they chaged deadline only that year

I mean Ronaldo didn’t win a single meaningful title that year. Ribery won everything.

So Messi winning is far far more deserving.
In fact this is the historical trend in the world cup year. World cup winning side(or Runner-up)  significantly  standout player won Ballon d'or. It happened every single time.
Only exception was if there is no significantly stand-out player in winning side(or Runner-up) .ie 2010, 2014.

Modric winning 2018 is completely deserved. He took small nation Croatia in the world cup final.  Other goat can't score single  wc ko goal without modric. And he wants to win Ballon d'or in 2018? Seriously?
2018 Ballon d'or was as clear as the daylight. It would been scandal if Modric didn’t win it. Thanks God.

El Gunner wrote:

Thimmy wrote:I think Modric benefited from their lifetime achievement approach, as well. I wasn't overly impressed with him in the last world cup, aside from his screamer against Argentina. And they didn't win it either. He had some high-level, isolated performances for us in our Champions League winning campaign, but showed clear signs of very fluctuating consistency in the league. I think that was another example of "you can't argue that he doesn't deserve it", but as much as I appreciate him as a player, I don't think he was the best player that year either.

so let me guess... you believe Ronaldo should've won it that year?

44 games.... 44 goals and 8 assists for Madrid.  15 goals and 3 assists in 13 games in CL.  I would say clearly.

At Real Madrid, it wasn't even a question who was the best player on the team that year.  He also had 6 goals in 7 games for Portugal.

The award is about who is deemed most popular and befitting by the media.  Also very much reliant on which club you play for.  It's not about the best player.  Been like this for years.

Beautiful Football wrote:Modric winning 2018 is completely deserved. He took small nation Croatia in the world cup final.  Other goat can't score single  wc ko goal without modric. And he wants to win Ballon d'or in 2018? Seriously?
2018 Ballon d'or was as clear as the daylight. It would been scandal if Modric didn’t win it. Thanks God.

What do you base this claim on? I watched every single Croatia match during that world cup. Modric scored a screamer against Argentina and garnered a ton of attention for it, but Rakitic was their top performer throughout the tournament. Being the most high-profile player on the team doesn't automatically mean that he carried them, although I suppose you can argue that their advancement would've ended against Argentina if not for his one, clutch goal.

Thimmy wrote:

Beautiful Football wrote:Modric winning 2018 is completely deserved. He took small nation Croatia in the world cup final.  Other goat can't score single  wc ko goal without modric. And he wants to win Ballon d'or in 2018? Seriously?
2018 Ballon d'or was as clear as the daylight. It would been scandal if Modric didn’t win it. Thanks God.

What do you base this claim on? I watched every single Croatia match during that world cup. Modric scored a screamer against Argentina and garnered a ton of attention for it, but Rakitic was their top performer throughout the tournament. Being the most high-profile player on the team doesn't automatically mean that he carried them, although I suppose you can argue that their advancement would've ended against Argentina if not for his one, clutch goal.

Modric is not about goal ans stats. You known this too. Without hus engine both Croatia and madrid Midfield become very weak thus no chance for ronaldo and co to do tapin.

Why are you so combative these days, EG? I don't agree that he was their best player, so we'll just have to disagree about that. Rakitic was far more productive throughout the tournament, and while I do agree that Modric certainly has the potential to benefit his team as an engine in the midfield, I don't think he excelled at that during that world cup. Consistency matters, whether we're talking about club football or international football, and Modric was inconsistent, but occasionally brilliant for both club and country that year. I'd go as far as to say that his lack of consistency in the league was bordering on disappointing. If Croatia had anyone who was consistently industrious in that tournament, it was, in my opinion, Rakitic.

Rakitic was the best player in world cup 2018.  It's a crime that he doesn't get more recognition.  Modric was very good...  but Rakitic was more consistent and was playing the "Kante" role for them.

I love Modric.  But as thimmy mentions, I don't consider 2018 to be his best season.  Far from.  He was actually at his best from 2014 to 2017.  Absolute monster in those seasons.

Still a monster in 2018 and after... but we're talking about the best player in the world for 2018 here, not whether Modric isn't great generally (he is).

sportsczy wrote:Rakitic was the best player in world cup 2018.  It's a crime that he doesn't get more recognition.  Modric was very good...  but Rakitic was more consistent and was playing the "Kante" role for them.

I love Modric.  But as thimmy mentions, I don't consider 2018 to be his best season.  Far from.  He was actually at his best from 2014 to 2017.  Absolute monster in those seasons.

Still a monster in 2018 and after... but we're talking about the best player in the world for 2018 here, not whether Modric isn't great generally (he is).

This really is the most objective and well-sensed response here by far.

Rakitic has always been underrated, and that is criminal. Modric gets more recognition because he's slightly more technically gifted and passes with the outside of his boot

EG been wilding out there ever since the Arteta express is underway.

El G following the footsteps of his idol Kanye.

Maybe has something to do with him getting battered all the time in our fantasy league.

Messi — 462 points
Haaland – 357 points
Mbappé – 270 points
De Bruyne — 100 points
Rodri — 57 points
Vinicius — 49 points
Alvarez — 28 points
Osimhen — 24 points
Bernardo Silva — 20 points
Modric — 19 points




Also

Just some of those votes tells how incredibly biased this award is. No legitimacy or objecitivity whatsoever.

In the first 3 countries you have Lautaro Martinez, Emi Martinez and Onana ffs.

B.Silva definitely deserves the high placing... he has been incredible whereever he has played, one of the more versatile n best all round player there is...

Why is there so much talk about Ronaldo in this thread. He wasn’t even a contender.

As stated before this trophy is all about fanboy bias. And thus for his WC efforts alone the award went to Messi.

If it had been for best player who contributed to team success, it would clearly go to Haaland and likely Mbappe 2nd.