"These awards have no value" - Former player reveals scandalous incident during 2013 Ballon d'Or involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Former captain of Equatorial Guinea, Juvenal Edjogo, has revealed that his vote was changed in the 2013 Ballon d'Or to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, he claimed that he did not vote for either of them and was surprised to see the changes.

Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or in 2013, with Messi coming in second and Franck Ribery finishing third. Many believed the Frenchman deserved the trophy following his stellar year with Bayern Munich.

Speaking on the Spanish sports network Gol Play, Edjoga claimed that he does not believe in football awards as votes get changed. He recalled his votes from the 2013 Ballon d'Or and said:

"What little I can say about this type of award is that in 2013, I voted for my three players for the Ballon d'Or, and I sent my votes, and in the end when it was made public, the list of who voted for who, my votes were different. It said I voted for Messi, Cristiano, and I don't know who else, but I didn't vote for any of them. That's why I say, I don't believe in absolutely anything about those awards. Since then, I've thought these awards have no value."

Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammates on Lionel Messi winning Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid star Toni Kroos was vocal about Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d'Or in 2021 and hinted that it should have been Robert Lewandowski. Cristiano Ronaldo's former teammate believes that the Argentine and the Portuguese have been the best in the last decade, but others deserved it in 2021.He said:

"It is absolutely not deserved. There is no doubt that Messi, with Cristiano, has been the player of the last decade, but this year, there should've been others ahead of him."

Iker Casillas was also of a similar opinion and added that he too found it difficult to believe in football awards.

He said:

"It is increasingly difficult for me to believe in football awards. Messi is one of the five best players in the history of football but you have to know who is the most outstanding player after the season. It's not that hard."

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have 12 Ballons d'Or between them, with the Argentine winning it seven times.