5 reasons why the Ballon d’Or makes no sense

In only a few hours, the world will know who its best footballer for the year 2018 is. This year is a little different from the previous years as there is a great chance for something new to happen this time around.

The usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are always up there as hot favourites but none of the two are getting the same limelight this year. Instead, Luka Modric is being tipped as the first person ever to break the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly.

There is no doubt that someone not named Messi or Ronaldo winning the award would be a breath of fresh air but it also blatantly reveals the discrepancy of the process by which the winner is decided.

So, without further ado, here are 5 reasons why this award makes no sense…

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#5 Sneijder snub

Netherlands v Peru - International Friendly

Nobody can really forget the year 2010. It was one of those years where both Ronaldo and Messi weren’t really at the pinnacle of the sport and yet, the Argentine was given the award.

Wesley Sneijder had won the treble with Inter and then led his team to the final of the World Cup. He was the best player for the Netherlands but when the time came for France Football to bestow the award, Messi won it and Sneijder wasn’t even in the top three.

Looking at it right now, that snub was very absurd. Right now, Modric is being pushed towards the limelight to win the award due to the fact that he was an indispensable member of Madrid’s Champions League-winning team and Croatia’s run in the World Cup.

However, with that logic, Sneijder should have been way ahead of the others in 2010 because unlike Modric’s Madrid, who were terrible domestically, Sneijder’s Inter dominated Serie A and the cup competition.

And yet, it was Messi – who scored no goals for Argentina in competitive games in 2010 and had only two more goals in the 2009-10 season than he scored last season – who was chosen as the best player.

#4 Ribery snub

Ribery was in fine form in 2013

And then came the rejection of Frank Ribery. The Frenchman knew it all along. He didn’t hide his desire to win the trophy and he was very open about it with his words.

But he knew that he wouldn’t be able to hold the accolade he so coveted. In 2013, Bayern Munich won the treble and the Frenchman was simply unstoppable.

Being an auxiliary inside-forward who also tracked back to help out in defense, Ribery scored 11 goals and supplied 16 assists to his team-mates in the Champions League and Bundesliga combined.

But, it wasn’t enough. Given that winning the Champions League is the most important step to lay hands on the Ballon d’Or, Ribery was treated quite harshly.

Ronaldo might have scored 55 goals in 2012-13 but couldn’t win anything major with his team. But this year, the Portuguese has not only scored 44 goals but also has a Champions League medal to show for.

But now, strangely, Modric seems to be ahead of him and Messi.

#3 Real-Barca bias

The Real Barca show

For the last 9 years, no other club has had a Ballon d’Or winner apart from Real Madrid and Barcelona. The La Liga duo has dominated the proceedings to such an extent that it feels like the first qualification a player needs to have to claim the Ballon d’Or is to be a Real Madrid or Barcelona player.

This year, with Luka Modric being tipped to clinch the award, the trend will continue. It is also quite absurd that Ronaldo isn’t being marketed as a potential winner like he used to be when he was still donning the white.

It is no coincidence that Real Madrid and Barcelona players have been awarded the Ballon d’Or 11 times each in the history of the game, which is the highest among any clubs.

The second in place are Juventus and Milan with 8 Ballon d’Or winners each.

#2 Forward Bias

Bias for forwards

If the bias for Real Madrid and Barcelona isn’t enough, then we have the tendency to lean towards forwards more. This is understandable. After all, in this beautiful game played on the panorama of green, it is the goals that matter the most.

Without scoring, a team can’t win – it is the very fabric on which the game is built. The goal of every player on the pitch is to play a part in putting the ball into the net. And so, it is only natural for the ones stabbing it into the net to have more limelight.

However, there have been some years where non-forwards deserved the award more than the eventual winner. In 2010, it was Sneijder, like Ribery in 2013. Angel di Maria in 2014 was imperative in Madrid’s Champions League-winning campaign and Argentina’s run to the final of the World Cup.

But none of them won the award.

Modric’s win this year might break this trend but it will remain as more of an anomaly than a trendsetter.

#1 It’s a team sport

A team game

This might be a bit of a controversial point but it does make sense. Football is a team game and the efforts of everyone involved is what leads to the success of a team.

There is no way that a team can win honours without a good defense, even if it had the best attack in the world. Similarly, there is also no chance for a team to win titles if it doesn’t have players that can put the ball into the net.

As a result, having an award like this – where it is usually the forwards that are adorned more – is against the very foundation of the sport. It glorifies individuality in a collective sport.

While it might okay to recognize someone’s effort, the lopsidedness of this award, combined with how much importance it is given, makes it do more than good.