“These are political awards” - When Zlatan Ibrahimovic explained why he couldn’t win Ballon d'Or like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Former footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic had once shared his thoughts on why he couldn't win the Ballon d'Or like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ibrahimovic is one of the many greats to have not won the coveted award in his career. Meanwhile, Messi and Ronaldo together have won 13 of them, with the Argentine boasting a record eight and the latter winning five.
Widely considered two of the greatest players to have graced football, Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the sport for the last two decades. The two have established a duopoly for the coveted award since 2008 that was broken on only two occasions — by Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022.
The 2024 Ballon d'Or nominations mark the first time that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo made it into the rankings in over two decades.
In a 2022 interview with Bild, Zlatan Ibrahimovic claimed that the Ballon d'Or and other such awards are politically influenced, saying (via GOAL):
“These are political awards. They want ‘Mr Perfect.' If you speak and say what you think you can’t get them. It’s easy to give them to Mr. Nice Guy. It doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t make me better or worse.”
Despite an illustrious career, Ibrahimovic never made it to the top three of France Football's rankings for the Golden Ball. The Swedish superstar's best rank came in 2013 when he finished fourth behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi, and Franck Ribery.
In 827 appearances across clubs and competitions, Zlatan Ibramivovich scored 496 goals and 202 assists. He also found the net 62 times and provided 25 assists in 122 appearances for Sweden. The forward retired from professional football in July 2023 at the age of 41.
"These awards are losing credibility" - When Cristiano Ronaldo questioned Ballon d'Or's relevance following Lionel Messi's record eighth win
In a 2023 interview with Record, Cristiano Ronaldo claimed that prestigious footballing awards like the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Awards are losing their credibility. The Portuguese icon's comments came after his archrival Lionel Messi won both awards that year, beating Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe. Ronaldo said (via GOAL):
"I think that, in a way these awards are losing credibility. It’s not to say that Messi didn’t deserve it, or Haaland or even Mbappe but the numbers are there and the numbers don’t deceive. You have to consider the entire season."
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 54 goals and provided 15 assists in 59 games in the 2023 calendar year, finishing the year as the top scorer in world football. However, he did not make it to the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or or the FIFA Best Awards. The Al-Nassr superstar added:
"The numbers are facts. If you go back and see what happened at Manchester United and the national team, people actually considered me lost... but the truth is that I focused and had a great period at Al Nassr, that's why I scored 54 goals."
Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, dropping one of the best individual campaigns of all time in the tournament and winning his second Golden Ball.