Lionel Messi news: Mourinho believes Messi doesn't deserve the Ballon d'Or this year
What's the story?
Jose Mourinho, the master of controversial statements, has expressed doubts over whether Lionel Messi deserves the Ballon d’Or 2019 award.
According to the former Manchester United manager, the Barcelona skipper’s inability to win the Champions League with the Catalan giants makes him less deserving now to lift the prestigious individual accolade.
In case you didn’t know….
Barcelona ace Messi was the overwhelming favorite to win the 2019 Ballon d’Or before his team somehow conspired to throw away a 3-0 deficit from the first leg of the Champions League semifinal, handing Liverpool a 4-0 victory in the second leg. Messi looked pale throughout the course of the 90 minutes at Anfield and failed miserably to inspire Barcelona to their first Champions League final since 2014-15.
However, apart from that blip at Anfield, Messi has been sensational for Barcelona this campaign. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has racked up as many as 48 goals in just 48 games and provided 22 assists to his teammates.
Messi was the main reason behind Barcelona’s cakewalk to the 26th LaLiga title, as the Argentine wizard netted 34 times in the league and is on the verge of receiving his 6th Golden Boot in Europe.
Moreover, Mourinho has lauded the Barcelona captain several times during this season. After Messi’s breathtaking performance in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, Mourinho hailed Messi as the “God of football”
The heart of the matter
Mourinho has now made an about-turn and questioned Messi’s right to win the highest individual award in football.
"I have doubts that he deserves the Ballon d’Or this year because he failed in the Champions League," Mourinho claimed on RMC as per reports.
After being the lone runner in the race to win the most prestigious personal accolade in football, Messi is now facing stiff competition from the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, as they are on verge of winning this year’s Champions League.
What’s next?
Messi is expected to be in the starting line-up for Barcelona against Eibar on the final matchday of LaLiga on Sunday. He still has a chance to add more silverware to his collection this year, as Barcelona take on Valencia in the Copa del Rey final on 26th May.
If Barcelona do win that, Messi's claim to the Ballon d'Or will get even stronger, irrespective of what Mourinho says.