Messi, Ronaldo Dominance Destroyed Football Awards Integrity

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JOHANNESBURG: Although the Messi and Ronaldo era had been phenomenal, it has turned football into merely about statistics.

Lionel Messi (36) and Cristiano Ronaldo (38) have shaped and dominated an era of their time. Therefore, their much storied rivalry on the pitch will go down in the annals of football history for generations to come. Both players are exalted as the greatest of all time (GOAT) to ever play the beautiful game. Indeed, their accomplishments and accolades speak for themselves and nobody comes close to their individual successes in a team sport setting.

Messi has claimed unprecedented eight Ballon d’Ors and three FIFA Best Player of Year awards, three and one more respectively compared to his Portuguese counterpart. Their uninterrupted reign of dominance lasted for a decade, from 2008 to 2018 to be precise. This might have been a once-off football rivalry of a lifetime.

It all begun in 2008 when Ronaldo, who plies his trade in the Saudi Professional League (SPL) for Al Nassr, won his first the Ballon d’Or after he had helped Manchester United to win the English Premier League (EPL) title and the UEFA Champions League. Not to be outdone, the Argentine won it the following year while in the colours of Barcelona FC, which competes in the La Liga, a top-tier Spanish league.

As such, the battle lines had been drawn. Messi won it again in 2010, the year in which the FIFA award was merged with the Ballon d’Or. In the same year, Spain won its first FIFA World Cup, hosted in South Africa, thanks to the brilliance of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta.

It is important to mention that the 2008 and 2009 Ballon d’Or winners had won the UEFA champions league. Therefore, following the merger, many people questioned whether a 2010 award would be claimed by a World Cup winner or a UEFA Champions League winner. Much to the disbelief of some people, Messi claimed it in lieu of either Iniesta or Xavi, albeit he had won neither. Another player who had been expected to win the award is Netherlands‘ Wesley Sneijder, who had won the champions league, Serie A title and Coppa Italia with Inter Milan. He was not only a runners-up, but also a joint top goal-scorer in the global showpiece.

The 2010 Ballon d’Or caused a blemish that haunted the award in 2013, with its winner as Ronaldo. At that time in which a performance served as a key measure for the prestigious award, the former Manchester United player did not win a single trophy while Messi had won the Spanish La Liga and Bayern Munich, a German outfit, had won the Champions League.

Therefore, the precedent had been broken yet again. A number of goals had been used as a criterion, which helped CR7, as Ronaldo is widely known, to snatch it. Compared to Bayern’s Franck Ribery, who had scored 34 goals in all competitions and won a treble that included the champions, the former Real Madrid player had scored a superior 66 goals in 55 matches in all competitions.

Put differently, 2010 meant that a World Cup winner was not guaranteed the Ballon d’Or and 2013 meant that goals guaranteed the top goalscorer the award. Although the Messi and Ronaldo era had been phenomenal, it has turned football into mere goal statistics, thereby ignoring other players, such as goalkeepers, defenders and midfielders who do not score a bucket load of goals. Therefore, they may not win the award going forward.

In 2018, Luka Modric broke the duo’s monopoly over the Ballon d’Or. The 2018 FIFA World Cup runner-up who beat Kylian Mbappe for the accolade, had won the champions league. Incidentally, Mbappe had won the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, but failed in Europe.

In 2021, Messi claimed his record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or. He had won Copa America and Copa Del Rey with Barcelona before he leaving the Catalans for Paris Saint Germain (PSG). Chelsea FC, which competes in the EPL, had won the champions league, yet none of its stars had a shot at winning the award.

Messi and Ronaldo have done exceptionally well for themselves. However, their rivalry has ruined how best footballers are viewed and how should awards be judged. Between 2008 and 2023, only two players have won the award other than the duo. The other player is Karim Benzema, who won it in 2022. Guess who won the Ballon d’Or in 2023, Lionel Messi.