"He is a different player from the rest" - Javier Zanetti reveals his choice for this year's Ballon d'Or
Javier Zanetti has backed Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or this year. The Argentine legend claims the PSG star is 'different from the rest' and deserves to lift the trophy.
Lionel Messi is among the 30 Ballon d'Or nominees and faces competition from Chelsea's Jorginho and Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid's Kaim Benzema are also in the running.
While speaking with Olé, Zanetti claimed Messi deserved to win the Ballon d'Or this year. The legendary defender also pointed out how the Argentine helped his side win the 2021 Copa America and picked the PSG star as his favorite for the annual award.
He said:
"For me, Messi has to win the Ballon d'Or because he is still a different player from the rest, always decisive and unbalanced. We are talking about the essence of football. His numbers are impressive since he started playing football, be it in Europe and the Argentine National Team.
"And now, after so long, as captain and as a leader, he managed to win the Copa América and make a whole country happy. For all that, for me, he deserves to be chosen again with the Ballon d'Or."
Lionel Messi is not everyone's Ballon d'Or favorite
Patrice Evra has openly admitted he is 'sick' of seeing Lionel Messi win the Ballon d'Or. He wants the award to be handed to Jorginho or N'Golo Kante this year as they won the 2020-21 Champions League with Chelsea.
"I totally disagree. Because, in my opinion, this Ballon d'Or is for [N'Golo] Kante or Jorginho, he deserves it! I do not understand why people say 'He's just a midfielder', he won everything! Participating a lot in these triumphs. In my opinion, it's an injustice [if Jorginho does not win it]. I'm sick of giving it to [Lionel] Messi. What did he win last year? Ok, the Copa America, but with Barcelona, what did he do?" Evra said.
Ballon d'Or voting is now closed, and the winner will be announced in a month – on November 29th in Paris.