🔴EOTK Insider Opinion: Ballon d'Or rankings confirm what we already know: the award's an utter sham 👎
Mo Salah arguably deserved to, at least, finish within the top three in the Ballon d'Or rankings
Despite the imperious form that Mohamed Salah is experiencing, we have to remember that the Ballon d’Or judges the best player in world football over the course of a calendar year.
Make no mistake - objectively, the Egyptian international has been the globe’s leading talent so far this season.
Even were we to take into account Liverpool’s rather poor title defence, however, it’s difficult to rationalise the thought process behind classifying the No.11 as having enjoyed a poorer year than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Jorginho.
It’s important to caveat this debate with the acknowledgement that Lionel Messi is, on his day, undoubtedly the world’s best player and has certainly been so for a mind-boggling number of years.
However - and we really can’t stress this enough - the award is granted to the individual player who has enjoyed a series of superior performances across the calendar year.
At the very least, that was the idea behind it.
Now it seems international accomplishments coupled with domestic trophies hold considerable weight when the time to vote comes.
Though most would likely agree that Messi has, by his own ludicrously high standards, fallen short over the last year, the capture of the once ever-illusive Copa America with Argentina’s national side has most certainly been taken into consideration along with the 34-year-old’s status in the game.
[To Messi’s credit, the former Blaugrana star was the joint-top scorer and the leading assist maker at the 2021 Copa America]
Jorginho, likewise, has tasted major success this season, both domestically with Chelsea (Champions League) and with the Italian national side (European Championship).
The accomplishments of the pair in question - both finishing 1st and 3rd respectively - are certainly praiseworthy, however, one does have to wonder why it should factor into judgements around the Ballon d’Or unless performances are heavily intertwined.
Salah’s near-singlehanded efforts at dragging Liverpool into the top four last term were hugely significant if not quite handing his skipper, Jordan Henderson, an opportunity to whip out his famous shuffling trophy lift celebration.
Ultimately, the Egyptian was let down by injuries and poor performances from his fellow forwards and teammates, which then raises the question to at which point we draw the line?
Why should an individual player be let down or supported by their teammates in their bid to win what is supposedly an individual award?
If this is an award to acknowledge the player with the most trophies for club and country, why not just simply do away with all notion of the Ballon d’Or being classified as an “individual” award and embrace the charade of the occasion? Why not simply accept its status as a glorified popularity contest with a level of legitimacy comparable to that of a high school prom?
Being brilliant, it seems, is no longer enough to be handed the recognition you deserve - that is unless you’ve been brilliant enough across the past decade or so to get by on the after fumes of your magnificence.
Whilst talk of ‘next year’ has arisen for Mohamed Salah, with his chances likely to enjoy a boost if major silverware is secured at club and, potentially, international level, one must wonder at the significance of an award that seems to have wandered wayward of its original purpose.
If you’re of fan of this kind of content, all completely ad-free, then feel free to hit the subscribe button below and become an EOTK Insider. Dig into exclusive tidbits reserved only for our subscribers!