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Wenger Says Messi Shouldn’t Have Won Ballon d’Or Award For 2012

Arsene Wenger the manager of Arsenal revealed that to him, Lionel Messi does not deserve the Ballon d’Or award for 2012 that was awarded to … Continue reading Wenger Says Messi Shouldn’t Have Won Ballon d’Or Award For 2012


Arsene Wenger the manager of Arsenal revealed that to him, Lionel Messi does not deserve the Ballon d’Or award for 2012 that was awarded to him as either Cristiano Ronaldo or Andres Iniesta would have fit best to have won the 2012 edition of the award.

“No, not this year,” the Gunners boss told the Arsenal Magazine. “For me Messi is certainly the best player I have ever seen in the game, but I believe that this year he has really been rewarded for what he did individually, rather than what he won for his team.

“For once he has not been in a team that won absolutely everything. He did not win the Champions League, he did not win the Spanish league and he didn’t win anything with his country, but individually it’s true he had an exceptional year, scoring 91 goals.

“I believe he has been rewarded for that, but for me I’m more a fan of collective sport, so I feel people like [Iker] Casillas, [Cristiano] Ronaldo – who won the championship – and especially [Andres] Iniesta deserved it more.

“He’s always number two or three, but he won the European Championship with Spain – he could have deserved it this year.”

Making it his fourth time to claim the Ballon d’Or award in a ceremony that took place in Zürich, the Barca forward had Cristiano Ronaldo and Iniesta to contend with.

Taking a peep into Messi’s achievement, the only trophy the Argentine forward can boast of is the Cope Del Ray which was won last season despite his optimal performance as an individual player after he broke Gerd Muller’s goal scoring record, netting 91 times in a calendar year in contrast to Ronaldo and Iniesta who have done so much good and were also given recognition in their clubs and countries in the 2012 season after they won major laurels.