But please don't mistake it for what it is not - some sort of equivalent of an MVP award in U.S. Goodness knows we can all use more shared experiences of the sort that don't involve spike proteins.

I say celebrate it for what it is: some kind of global popularity contest/water cooler moment. Particularly since - after Messi or the yin to his yang, Ronaldo, had won 11 of the 12 previous editions - this looked like the year somebody else might get the crown. That's why Paris Saint-Germain's Lionel Messi winning his seventh Ballon d'Or ahead of Lewandowski and Chelsea's Jorginho is, to many, a big deal. Messi to Lewandowski: You deserved 2020 Ballon d'OrĪnd then there's the fact that it's natural fodder for endless discussions, both of the social media and of the bar room kind: If the sport is some kind of lingua franca, then this is the equivalent of talking about the weather, a natural conversation starter when you don't know what to say. The 2021 FC 100: Messi, Lewandowski among No.1s There's the fact that top players really, really care about winning it: Clubs mount campaigns on behalf of their star players, guys like Cristiano Ronaldo (despite already having five of these at home) get annoyed when it gets canceled (like it did last year due to the coronavirus pandemic), while Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski's face lit up like a child hearing reindeer footsteps on the roof when he found out he was among the favorites. There's history: The Ballon d'Or dates back to 1956, which means it predates the European Championships, yellow and red cards, substitutions, color TV, remote controls and of course, FIFA (the video game).

Why Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or win shouldn't make you angryĬount the Ballon d'Or as one of those grand old institutions that's insanely popular. Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FC You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser

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