Tag: International

Lionel Messi won a record-breaking and record-setting seventh Ballon d’Or on Monday 29 December, 2021, after 180 journalists voted for the mercurial Argentine who has now gone two clear of his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the most Ballon d’Or awards.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward pipped Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, his closest challenger to the award this year, by amassing 613 points to Lewandowski’s 580. Cristiano Ronaldo finished in sixth place – his lowest finish in 11 years – with 178 points.

Despite it being a rivalry which Messi has insisted makes him – and football in general – better in the past, the 34-year-old has now come out to say that outdoing Ronaldo has never been a source of extra motivation for him to achieve all he has and can in his illustrious career.

Both players have had a chokehold on the award for the better part of the last 15 years, winning 12 of the awards between them. This individual accolade battle was one of the many battles both players had between each other, as they have also both had a chokehold on the European Golden shoe for 10 of the last 15 seasons (Messi has six, a record; Ronaldo has four, the second most).

The Messi-Ronaldo rivalry which started with Messi’s breakout season in 2008/09 became intense in the nine seasons which Ronaldo spent in LaLiga, as both players broke record after record on both sides of the El Clasico divide. Messi has now come out to say that he has only ever been focused on himself following his record seventh Ballon d’Or.

“I always wanted to surpass myself”, Messi says

France Football, the organisers of the show since its inception over 65 years ago, interviewed Lionel Messi after the awards at his home in Paris.

The Argentina national team captain and PSG forward admitted once again that the rivalry has been ‘wonderful’ but he never focused on it as much as many fans and journalists think.

“I always wanted to surpass myself and not look at what others were doing,” Messi told France Football. “With Cristiano, we kept our battle going within the same league for years. 

“It has been wonderful and has helped us both to grow in our careers, but without looking at each other. I just wanted to surpass myself, to be the best I could be, and not better than any other.”

Messi, who finally secured a trophy with Argentina in the summer as they beat Brazil to the Copa America title, had previously come under fire in his home country for failing to replicate the international achievements of Diego Maradona.

This is due to the comparisons the 34-year-old gets with Maradona, who many Argentinians – including Messi – believe to be the best player the world has ever seen. Messi admits that the comparisons bothered him in the past because he doesn’t see himself as a role model.

“I don’t like giving advice,” he said to France Football. “I fought for my dreams. At first it was to be a professional player, then I tried to surpass myself and achieve new goals every year.

“In the midst of it all, there is also an element of luck. It also depends on God, and I believe he chose to have all of this happen to me.”

The former Barcelona captain added: “I’ve been Messi for 34 years, so I’m starting to get used to it. I’m happy with everything that’s happened.

“But sometimes, I have to admit, I’d quite like to go unnoticed, to enjoy being with my family without people recognising me.

“I’m not complaining, though, on the contrary. It’s always nice to receive a compliment, a smile or someone asking for a photo with me. I’m used to it and for me it has become normal.”

Cristiano Ronaldo fails to make list of Portugal’s voting journalist

Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn’t attend the Ballon d’Or award in characteristic fashion, failed to make the top five list of the voting journalist from his home country of Portugal.

The final votes were revealed via @TheEuropeanLad on Twitter, who posted a picture of the latest France Football magazine which had the breakdown of votes.

Ronaldo, who finished sixth below Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho, Robert Lewandowski and Lionel Messi, was snubbed by Joaquim Rita of SIC Noticias, who was the journalist tasked with Portugal’s votes for the 2021 awards.

Rita voted N’Golo Kante in first place, Robert Lewandowski in second, Kylian Mbappe in third, Jorginho in fourth, and Mo Salah in fifth, also snubbing eventual winner Lionel Messi.

The new COVID-19 Omicron variant has raised a lot of concerns among European clubs who will have to release their African players for the January 2022 African Cup of Nations holding in Cameroon.

Europe’s clubs are now seeking urgent talks with FIFA, as their concerns over player safety at the tournament increases.

Travel bans and gathering restrictions are once again in fashion following the discovery of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, which has been reported to be immune to every vaccine that has currently been developed for the virus.

The African Cup of Nations is slated to hold between January 9 and February 6 2022 and the public health situation globally looks set to present a major challenge before the tournament begins.

Other continental bodies are also looking to resume international games from January 24 January to February 2 2022, presenting even more concern for European clubs.

The United Kingdom has since added 10 more Southern African countries to its travel ban list after the Omicron variant was discovered, a few of which will be participating in the tournament, which raised the concern.

European clubs looking to avoid a repeat of September 2021 events

The European Club Association (ECA), chaired by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is understood to be seeking these talks in order to avoid the health and safety issues that arose from the September 2022 international break.

Premier League clubs refused to release players who played for countries on the United Kingdom’s restrictions list because they would have been required to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days on their return to the UK.

In trying to find a solution to the issues from the September window, English clubs reached an agreement with FAs of the various nations on the UK’s red list to only release fully vaccinated players for international duty on the basis that they quarantined for 10 days at a club facility, only leaving isolation to train and play.

The agreement received a lot of criticism from managers of English clubs, with Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp saying it was “not a real solution”.

The statement from the ECA board reads: “The board agreed to engage urgently with Fifa to ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests as the health situation continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner.”

ECA says no to FIFA biennial World Cup plans

Elsewhere, the ECA also voiced its “unanimous” opposition to FIFA’s plans for a biennial World Cup, a proposal backed by the Confederation of African Football whose tournament is the current source of worry for the ECA.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino looks to begin the new biennial format from the 2026 World Cup, which will also be expanded to 48 teams.

European clubs dominate the World Cup, with the latest edition in Russia in 2018 featuring 90% European-based players. The ECA is adamant about the biennial World Cup plans and says its position represents over 240 professional clubs in Europe.

The ECA said that FIFA’s new international match calendars for men’s and women’s football must ensure the “right balance” between the club and international game, and take into account the voice of club football and the ECA in any decisions taken.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Gianluigi Donnarumma won the 2021 Ballon d’Or Yashin Trophy award on Monday night, seeing off competition from Chelsea’s Édouard Mendy.

Donnarumma is only the second goalkeeper after Liverpool’s Alisson Becker to receive the award named after Russian icon and former Ballon d’Or winner, “The Black Spider”, Lev Yashin.

Both PSG shot-stoppers were in the running for the trophy but the voting goalkeepers, ex-goalkeepers and journalists bestowed the victory on Donnarumma due to his heroics at the Euro 2020 tournament.

The Yashin trophy is France Football’s response to calls for football bodies to recognise the sport’s most However, one of the most under-appreciated position every year.

Lev Yashin, who the trophy is named after, is the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or award in its 65-year history. Other great goalkeepers have since been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, but the award is usually skewed in favour of attacking players even if a goalkeeper outdid the competition.

Prior to the Yashin Trophy win for the 22-year-old Donnarumma, he was named the best goalkeeper in the world for 2021 by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics.

He beat Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer to that award, with Mendy coming in third.

Edouard Mendy misses out on an important recognition

Donnarumma is a deserved winner but Edouard Mendy is deemed to be more deserving of the award than the 22-year-old PSG and Italy goalkeeper.

Donnarumma also finished in 10th place in the Ballon d’Or rankings while Mendy was totally snubbed for the list, which only served to fuel the controversy surrounding the Italian’s win.

Mendy is the first black goalkeeper since Brazil and AC Milan legend Dida in 2007 to win the Champions League and the first African goalkeeper since Liverpool legend Bruce Grobbelaar in 1985 to lift an European title.

Just like both legendary goalkeepers, he received no recognition for his stellar efforts which helped his club to major honours, further fuelling the heated discourse around how black talents in football tend to be overlooked.

The 29-year-old Senegalese shotstopper remains an inspiration for black and African players, however, as opined by Cameroon icon Jacques Songo’o.

“It’s a great pride and I’m so happy that African goalkeepers have reached this level,” Jacques Songo’o told GOAL. “We have the respect now and we have shown that with work we can reach these places.

“When you have the chance, you have to take it, and when Mendy joined Chelsea it wasn’t necessarily as first-choice.

“There was already [Kepa], who had played for the Spanish national team. But Mendy came, worked hard, put pressure on his rival, and when he got his chance, he took it. It doesn’t surprise me at all.”

Donnarumma’s 2021 heroics not enough to seal PSG starting spot regardless

Despite being the talk of the year alongside Mendy, Donnarumma has not been able to replicate the Senegalese’s achievement of seizing the starting spot from his club’s current number one.

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino has shown a preference for Keylor Navas – who finished ninth in the Yashin Trophy rankings – in big games, while Donnarumma handles the smaller games.

Mino Raiola, Donnarumma’s agent, has, in characteristic fashion, begun to cook up a media storm about his client’s situation at the club, claiming that Donnarumma may be leaving PSG soon.

PSG president president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has come out to quash the rumours suggesting that Donnarumma could depart the French giants following Raiola’s comments, however.

Al-Khelaifi simply said after the Yashin Trophy was presented to Donnarumma: “Gianluigi Donnarumma is simply extraordinary, he will contribute to the success of Paris Saint Germain in the coming seasons.”