Madrid (dpa)
Real Madrid player Toni Kroos believes that Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema deserve to win the Ballon d’Or more than Lionel Messi.
Messi, 34, won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his history, yesterday, Monday, thanks to his success at the international level with the Argentine national team, as he was a major factor in the Argentine team’s victory in the Copa America, after he contributed to nine of the 13 goals scored by his country. In the tournament, which ended his wait for an international title.
Five-time winner Ronaldo finished sixth – the first time he had failed to be among the top three in the last 11 years, but Kroos said former team-mate Ronaldo and current team-mate Benzema, who finished fourth, had done better than Messi this year.
In his podcast, Kroos said: “The Messi award is absolutely not deserved.” There is no doubt that Messi, along with Cristiano, were the two best players of the last decade, but this year there should have been other players before him.
“For me, Benzema should have been number one, if you were really looking for the best individual player last year,” he added. I can see from a close distance what an amazing footballer he is.
He added: When I see how many decisive goals Ronaldo scored recently, Manchester United are still in the Champions League thanks to him. Then, in my opinion, Cristiano deserved to have a position against Messi.
Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski came in second this year, ahead of Jorginho, the Italian national team player and Chelsea English team.
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