This is Friday’s big news: Leo Messi (like Neymar) is not on the list of 30 nominees for Ballon d’Or 2022. The former Barcelona player, who has won seven times (he holds the record) and won it last in 2021, is not on the France Football list for the first time since 2005.
Messi will not be able to lift on October 17 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris what would have been his eighth Ballon d’Or. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo (his record chaser with 5 trophies) is among the top 30 of 2022 according to France Football.
Faced with this decision, to leave Messi, which caused a big surprise, the newspaper L’Équipe explained the reasons why the former player of Barcelona and the striker of Manchester United appear in the list of 30 best .
Changing the criteria for the Ballon d’Or
L’Équipe wrote about Messi’s absence: “A sacrilege? An event, in any case.” The change in criteria for the Ballon d’Or was the first reason identified by the aforementioned media and added that, in the period used to draw the list presented by the French media, Messi’s performance was not as good. expected
Six goals in Ligue 1 in a first year marked by disappointment
The newspaper L’Équipe argues that the Argentine star’s first year at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was not good, “but marked by frustration, along with tensions with Mauricio Pochettino.” And he emphasizes that Messi has only scored 6 goals in Ligue 1. “An unpleasant impression that part of Leo remained in Barcelona, the frequency of his step, his determination…” The leading scorer of the 2021-22 French championship, Kylian Mbappé, achieved the 28.
The Champions elimination
And, without a doubt, the elimination in the Champions League round of 16 against Real Madrid was a blow that decided the season of Leo Messi and PSG.
Why Cristiano Ronaldo?
L’Équipe highlights that the Portugal captain is the all-time top scorer at national team level, scoring 6 goals in the Champions League for Manchester United, where he has scored 32 goals in 49 games in all competitions. Of the said number of ‘targets’, 18 in the Premier, where he is the third top scorer after Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min (23 each).
Source: La Verdad
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