Favorite Ballon d’Or Contender Surrenders Claim to Award for Lionel Messi

Over the last decade or so, the Ballon d’Or has seemingly become the personal property of two players, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Barring Luka Modric, of course, who won the award in 2018. This year, again, the race for the prestigious award is heavily tilted in favor of the magician, Lionel Messi. He stood out in Barcelona’s campaign and ended his international trophy drought.

However, Messi isn’t the only name being touted to receive the golden award. A perhaps surprising inclusion in the list is Chelsea and Italy midfielder, Jorginho. The Chelsea number 5 had an immensely successful season, winning the Champions League and the Euros. He was also received the UEFA Player of the Year. But even the Italian midfield general believes the award belongs to the greatest of all time.

Jorginho believes Lionel Messi should win the Ballon d’Or

Former Italian professional, Antonio Cassano, recently revealed that during a chat with Jorginho, the midfielder said that Messi should have his name on the award every year. It’s a sentiment that a lot of football fans share, and the same was highlighted by Pique in 2016.

Former Italian soccer player Cassano spoke about Messi’s chances this season with Jorginho.

“Jorginho is an exceptional guy, he’s very intelligent, humble, and polite. I joked with him, ‘can you believe the scandal if they should give you the Ballon d’Or and not to Leo Messi?’”

“He absolutely agreed with me, and said ‘Messi should win it every year.’” said Cassano.

Soccer Football – World Cup – South American Qualifiers – Argentina v Bolivia – El Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina – September 9, 2021 Argentina’s Lionel Messi and teammates celebrate winning Copa America with the trophy after the match Pool via REUTERS/Juan Ignacio Roncoroni

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Who are Messi’s competitors?

Despite Cassano choosing Messi over Jorginho, this year’s Ballon d’Or race is going down to the wire. The most obvious choice would be Lionel Messi, who scored 40 goals and 14 assists (in 2021) while winning Copa America with Argentina and Copa del Rey with Barcelona.

However, Robert Lewandowski is right behind him. He scored 54 goals and created eight assists while winning the Bundesliga, Club World Cup & DFL-Supercup. He is the focal point of Bayern Munich and has scored an incredible number of goals for the club.

Soccer Football – DFL Super Cup – Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich – Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany – August 17, 2021 Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski reacts REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video.

Likewise, Jorginho has a case for him this season. He is important for Chelsea and Italy as the focal point of the teams and transitioning play from defense to attack smoothly. He scored seven goals and recorded three assists. Moreover, he won Euro 2020, Champions League & UEFA Super Cup. Hence, there is a case for him to win the converted trophy.

Who are you backing to take home the coveted trophy?

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