Don’t compare Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo. According to Jose Mourinho and his unbiased opinion, Messi is only the best in the world. Not enough for another Ballon d’Or trophy; not when Ronaldo is the best player in the universe.
It’s not about the numbers, it’s about being fair, according to Mourinho. His explanation? If you are going to give out the Ballon d’Or because a player is the best, give it to Cristiano or Messi. But I ask: if the two are on the same level, is it normal that one wins four and the other one? It is not.
Not about the numbers or actual differences in ability. Only about pushing for his own player, but the reasoning changes from season to season. After the 2010-2011 campaign, the won in which Barcelona won both the La Liga and the Champions League, Jose Mourinho claimed that Ronaldo deserved the award because he scored more goals than Messi. Well…
No one came close to Messi last season when it comes to goals, breaking the record for goals scored in a season, both in Spain and in all competitions among European players, setting the mark at 73 goals, while also setting a new mark for Champions League goals. Ronaldo led Real Madrid to the league championship, but crumbled, like Barcelona, in the Champions League semifinal. With Portugal, he fell against Spain in the semifinal of the 2012 Euro.
How can you win the Ballon d’Or without collecting titles, without winning anything important? Don’t come to me telling me about the Intercontinental Cup or the Super Cup, this is small stuff. Tell me about fat titles.
Like the Copa del Rey Ronaldo won in 2011. Very fat.
It is harder to be Cristiano than Messi. Messi grew up in the team where he plays, with the players with whom he plays. Not Cristiano. He was in England, then they put him here in a losing team. He had to grow over the last two years with this team which has been forming. One plays as a No9 and roams around in those 50 square meters where the distance to goal is smaller and defense less intense. The other plays as a winger. How does a winger score as many goals as a No9? Besides, Ronaldo is a player who is not protected by anyone.
This is campaigning. It has nothing to do with reason or actual ability. Mourinho is pushing for his players’ award because he senses that it’s not going to him. Just like the European player of the year award went to Andres Iniesta, the Ballon d’Or will be going to someone who isn’t playing for Real Madrid. Mourinho, Ronaldo’s coach and partner under the same agent, is just trying to keep his star player happy. He needs both the big fat contract raise and the support for the Ballon d’Or, or he might go sulking again. This is just setting the ground for Barcelona favoritism complaints later on, nothing more.