Since the FIFA Ballon d’Or’s inception in 2010, Lionel Messi has won it each and every time.
His first crowning was a close one, with teammates Andres Iniesta and Xavi finishing in second and third placed respectively, but the last two have been landslide victories.
In 2011 he accrued 47.88% of the votes—double the amount Cristiano Ronaldo managed—with his incredible performances in a UEFA Champions League season fresh in the mind of colleagues and journalists alike.
But there’s a feeling someone else could win the award this time around, and here Discount Football Kits runs through five prime candidates for victory—should it not be the Argentine playmaker yet again.
Franck Ribery, Bayern Munich
Fresh from winning the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, Ribery has to be a front-runner for the Ballon d’Or this year.
He’s packed a huge amount of growth into the past 18 months, and credit to Jupp Heynckes for inspiring the change: the Frenchman is now a team player, works hard, tracks back and has reaped the rewards.
Arjen Robben has followed suit and found similar success, and the two wingers can be used as an example to all youngsters looking to take their game to the next level. You can always improve.
Ribery is now a key figure in Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich, looking to retain the UEFA Champions League for the first time in the competition’s history.
Bastian Schweinsteiger, Bayern Munich
Schweinsteiger has come a long way over the past nine years, as many forget he originally started his career as a winger.
Louis van Gaal made then surprising call to move to central midfield upon arriving at Bayern, and since that day he’s been blossoming into one of the finest, most complete players in football history.
It’s difficult to pin down exactly which role he plays the best as he has every attribute in the book, and Heynckes’ treble-winning system last season allowed him to do a bit of everything.
“Schweini” fell off the radar a little after an injury-plagued Euro 2012 in which he performed rather poorly, but bounced back in style and should be a top-five candidate for the Ballon d’Or.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
There are many who feel Ronaldo has enjoyed a better 12 months than Messi at club level despite Barcelona ripping La Liga to shreds in the 2012-13 season.
At the time of writing, the Portuguese has scored 12 goals in the new campaign, including one sensational hat-trick away to Galatasaray, and looks largely unperturbed by the arrival of Gareth Bale.
He’s matured into both a physical specimen and a leader on the pitch, providing a reliable outlet for goals whilst improving his temperament and attitude.
The only thing left on CR7’s footballing bucket list will be to lead his nation to glory.
Philipp Lahm, Bayern Munich
Sensing a trend yet? Bayern were so close to the fabled unbeaten season in the Bundesliga last year their players were always going to brought to the fore, and it’s arguable none are more deserving of the attention than captain fantastic Philipp Lahm.
Playing both left-back and right-back for die Bayern when needed he’s shone, proving himself to be the finest full-back—by some distance—in the world of football.
Pep Guardiola has admitted he’s the cleverest individual he’s ever coached, and as a result saw fit to move Lahm into the defensive midfield role of his 4-1-4-1 formation.
It’s a bigger responsibility, and it’s given the German more control over the game. So far it’s worked a treat and he even scored a header in preseason—perhaps his immense contributions will be noticed more often now?
Wildcard Selection: Andrea Pirlo, Juventus
Pirlo is in the process of being phased out of the Bianconeri XI due to the rapid growth of wondrous prospect Paul Pogba, but football romantics still adore everything about him.
He lit up Euro 2012 with Italy thanks to his passing and his beard, then proceeded to put Juventus back on the European map by excelling in the UEFA Champions League.
They were soundly beaten by a rampant Bayern in the end, but not to the extent the previously infallible Barcelona were and Turin blushes were saved.
The pressure is on Antonio Conte’s shoulders to deliver a better showing this year, and he may well look to Pirlo in his time of need once again.
Prediction
As much as i’d love to see Pirlo claim the award, it’s between the Bayern crew and Messi once again. Ronaldo is continually overlooked in favour of the Argentine, and only recent Champions League winners have a chance of overthrowing the Barcelona star.
Lahm deserves it the most, but my prediction is that Franck Ribery will claim the prize, capping off an incredible 2013.
[poll id=”8″]
Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win this year, due to his performances both in the league and UEFA champions league…
People must now start voting based on a players performance… Just saying!!!
why the debate,the award is for individual performance not team performance.people watch football because of players like messi and ronaldo but in terms of genius there is no one like messi not because i like him but thats the truth,believe it or not.
Frank ribery will take it