Lionel Messi won his fourth successive Ballon d’Or award in 2012 at the age of 25, and he penned his name in history forever.
In 2023, having won the Ballon d’Or at the award ceremony held on October 30, 2023, in Paris, Messi took home the prize for the 8th time in his stellar career.
However, that isn’t the primary focus of this write-up, as we intend to x-ray the fact that there is No active player in the world under the age of 35 with a single Ballon d’Or.
It might not come as a worrying trend to others, while for a section of the divide, this is something that has left many puzzled.
Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi with 8, Karim Benzema with one, and Luka Modrić with one, are the only active players who have won the prize, and are all currently over 35-year-old.
There is no active player under the age of 35 with a Ballon d’Or
Ronaldo is 38 years old, while Messi is 36 years old. Some feel that these two players have held the sport to ransom and that’s why others haven’t been recognized for their brilliance.
Case in point, in 2023, Erling Haaland not winning the Ballon d’Or has left many infuriated with the award organizers, as some feel that the Norwegian was “robbed” of the award.
There are those who feel that the monstrous status of both greats has overshadowed younger players, with them being shunned for top honors when the opportunity arises.
The other instances when neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo went home with the Ballon d’Or award, 38-year-old Luka Modric won it in 2018, and 35-year-old Karim Benzema won it in 2022.
Despite leading Manchester City to the treble – UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup, Haaland was overlooked for the top honor, and merely compensated with the Gerd Muller Trophy, handed to strikers.
Is favouritism a factor for youngsters being overlooked for the award?
In 2010, when Messi won his 2nd Ballon d’Or award, he trumped World Cup winner and then teammate Andres Iniesta to the honor.
He also beat treble-winning Wesley Sneijder, who assisted Inter Milan in winning the Copa Italia, Serie A, and Champions League.
Sneijder was also instrumental to the Netherlands making it to the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
However, the yardstick of the “FIFA World Cup” title wasn’t used in making their judgments for that year, and Lionel Messi ultimately went home with the prize.
The 36-year-old scored 47 goals and provided 12 assists in 53 appearances in the 2009/10 season, and individually he was outstanding.
Despite crashing out of the FIFA World Cup in the quarter-final, after losing to Germany, Messi had a sublime year based on individual performances.
In like manner, the same can be said of Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals and provided 9 assists in 53 appearances for Manchester City.
Haaland was not present at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, as Norway didn’t qualify for the tournament.
In recent years, names like Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr have been mooted as players to win the Ballon d’Or, but they are yet to crack the code.
Given the performances of youngsters like Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham, they have also been tipped as possible players who could win the award in the coming future.
