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#3 Patrice Evra - N'Golo Kante or Jorginho
Patrice Evra was a great player for Manchester United. Though he did not come close to making the podium for the Ballon d'Or award, he played with a couple of winners. So he knows a thing or two about what it takes to win the coveted prize.
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He is admittedly sick of watching Lionel Messi lift the award, and he does not believe the 34-year-old star has done enough to deserve the honour this year. Chelsea stars N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are higher in the pecking order than Messi, in his opinion. Evra said:
"I totally disagree. Because, in my opinion, this Ballon d'Or is for (N'Golo) Kante or Jorginho, they deserve it! I do not understand why people say 'He's just a midfielder', he won everything! Participating a lot in these triumphs."
"In my opinion, it's an injustice (if Jorginho does not win it). I'm sick of giving it to (Lionel) Messi. What did he win last year? Ok, the Copa America, but with Barcelona, what did he do? Last year, Jorginho also won trophies that didn't exist, so for me it's an absolute injustice (if he does not win it)."
#2 Ronaldo Nazario - Karim Benzema
Ronaldo Nazario was arguably the best player on the planet at the turn of the century. His performances for Real Madrid and Brazil took the world by storm.
He won the Ballon d'Or award twice, in 1997 as a 21-year-old, and in 2002 after helping Brazil to FIFA World Cup glory that year. He has backed Karim Benzema for the award this year, as he was in the same position as the French striker.
Ronaldo knows it is not an easy task to score 20+ goals in consecutive seasons. He said:
"Without a doubt, my candidate for the Ballon d'Or is Benzema. The best forward in the world, (an) incredibly high level for 10 years and a champion above all. Worthy of the award, don't you think?"
#1 Zinedine Zidane - Karim Benzema
Zinedine Zidane has a special place in world football, as he established himself as a highly successful coach after a very successful playing career. He won every major trophy with club and country.
Real Madrid have a special significance for him. So for this year's Ballon d'Or award, he has backed his younger compatriot Karim Benzema to win the award over Cristiano Ronaldo. The latter played a key role under Zidane in three back-to-back Champions League titles.
Zinedine Zidane praised Karim Benzema, in an interview with Telefoot, saying that the Real Madrid striker is a great all-round player:
"Benzema deserves to win this Ballon d'Or," said Zidane. "He is an incredible player, I had the great honour of coaching him. He can do everything on the pitch. He is on top, and I hope that he could be awarded the Ballon d'Or."
