5 reasons why the Ballon d'Or should be scrapped

Wasn’t it lovely and picturesque when Cristiano Ronaldo placed his fifth Ballon d’Or on that plinth at the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this month? Wasn’t it a consequential moment for one of the greatest talents the game has ever seen?

No. It felt contrived, vanity at its ultimate height.

When did football become an individual sport, where some players start putting solo achievements over those of the team? Well here’s five reasons why the biggest player award should be scrapped.

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#5 Weighted to attacking players

Of the 61 Ballon d’Or winners, there have been three defenders and one goalkeeper. Is that not a complete imbalance of where the award seems to gravitate to?

Basically, according to the results here, if you score lots of goals, you matter a lot more. Many would argue that makes a lot of sense, since goals win you games, but keeping them out also ensures you don’t lose them.

That should have just as much weight as being the headline-grabber but there’s no way of changing those minds that believe attacking is the be-all and end-all. People adore those that put things in the back of the net, neglecting those that work hard to stop them.

#4 Different Roles

The Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi debate will run on for years. One point of contention will be who won more Ballon d’Or awards over the course of the career but some years have been too close to call.

That’s especially important because, and I know this sounds crazy to some, they are two completely different players.

Ronaldo is a physical specimen, with great power in his running, striking and an incredible ability to leap into the air as if he was trying to dunk on his defender. Messi is a wizard, with the most impeccable close-ball control and the ability to drift into space as if the defenders didn’t exist.

Both are brilliant for two completely different reasons, so why is there the need to compare the two with an award? It’s absurd.

#3 Promotes personal glory

Greed perpetuates in the modern game and more often than not, it’s seeping into the fact players are beginning to take personal glory over the collective. Ronaldo was delighted to win the award, promoting his teammates, but there’s always a sense of how much this personal award means to him.

That also is shown in players like Neymar, who moved away from Barcelona and Lionel Messi to prove himself under his own team as his own man. Regardless of whether it might be better to stay at the Camp Nou to win another Champions League, he wants the Ballon d’Or and staying under the shadow of the Argentine will not help him do that.

Should they really matter? Most of the greats want to talk about all the trophies their teams or nations won, not the number of golden balls they managed to get.

#2 Team quality diminished

Real Madrid had a fantastic year last season, winning La Liga and the Champions League in superb fashion. So, let’s give Ronaldo all the plaudits for scoring a fair few goals for them and shove all those that made everything else happen in the background.

That’s the problem with individual awards in a team game, they seemingly diminish the accomplishments of the collective. They had impressive seasons from the likes of Sergio Ramos, who was just as much of a threat in the opposition box as his own, Casemiro, who gave the team balance, and Isco, who was in the form of his life as a creative influence.

That’s not mentioning the contributions of Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and even the substitutes that helped in times of need or Zinedine Zidane’s qualities. The Ballon d’Or ignores all of that, focusing on one cog in what was an incredible machine.

#1 Poor example to youngsters

This is the most important, as the next generation is the thing that matters at the moment. Those who look up to the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, who want to be them are focused on what they are winning on their own.

The more individualism is celebrated, the more kids will try to do too much on their own or feel unappreciated when performing the other roles vital in a successful team. That is not what football is about, where there’s a role for every kind of footballer and them all working as a unit in order to win.

Promoting being the best solo player creates the wrong kind of examples for kids to look up to. They should all want to be Ronaldo because he does the right things and prepares in the right way, rather than because he wins all these magazine covers and Ballon d’Or awards.