Khabib Nurmagomedov names 2 players who deserved 2021 Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi

Russian MMA star Khabib Nurmagomedov has become the latest to claim that PSG’s Lionel Messi did not deserve to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or award.

Messi scripted history by winning a record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or award last month. However, a part of the sports fraternity was unconvinced that Messi was the right choice for this year's award.

His individual stats over the year have been impressive, but the Argentinian only won the Copa America with Argentina. Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, has scored 65 goals for club and country this year, and also won the Bundesliga. Meanwhile, Messi had an overall return of 50 goals and 17 assists for club and country in 2021.

Other contenders for the 2021 Ballon d'Or award included Chelsea’s Jorginho and Liverpool’s Mohammed Salah, apart from Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante. Khabib believes that two of the above contenders deserved the award this year ahead of Messi: He said:

"I would give it to Lewandowski or Benzema. One of them. Lewandowski. I think. Last three years, he is the best football player. We can just look at his results. What he does. He has won the Champions League. He has scored more than 120 goals last two years. For the national team and club. It is an amazing result.”

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Lionel Messi’s seventh Ballon d’Or award - Well-deserved or huge travesty?

Khabib Nurmagomedov is convinced that Lewandowski deserved the 2021 Ballon d’Or award more than Lionel Messi. He said:

For the entire football history, I cannot remember, we can name a pair of players who scored 120 goals over two years. He has 65 goals this year. It is too much. For football I think it is too much. I think he deserves Ballon d'Or.

Robert Lewandowski has absolutely dominated with stellar goalscoring numbers in the last two years. He was unlucky not to win the 2020 Ballon d’Or, which got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was a strong contender for this year's award too.

Lionel Messi has had overall 67 goal involvements this year. He won the Copa America with Argentina, while the Polish international had the Bundesliga and the German Cup to show for his troubles.

Meanwhile, Jorginho was also a strong contender, having won the UEFA European Championships this summer and the Champions League with Chelsea last season. However, the Ballon d'Or award has always been based on voting, and has, over the years, come under intense scrutiny for the choice of winner.

Instead of the award going to the player who does the best individually in a calendar year, the Ballon d'Or has often gone to a player winning major titles. Hence, the simple fact that Messi won on the basis of votes should be enough reason for people to stop questioning whether he deserved it or not.

Instead, the basis behind the vote must be made clearer by France Football, who has given this award every year since 1955.

This year, there might have been quite a few people who claimed that Messi did not deserve to win the Ballon d’Or award. However, sound arguments have been made about different players multiple times over the last few years. The solution to it appears to be more clarity regarding the basis on which the winner should be selected.

In a nutshell, Luka Modric deserved the 2018 Ballon d’Or for the same reasons Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho deserved the 2021 Ballon d’Or. Lewandowski also registered a staggering number of goal involvements too. The fact that he still did not win it is food for thought.