Former Inter Milan attacking midfielder, Wesley Sneijder, has insisted that it was unfair he didn’t win the 2010 Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi.
Messi recently won a record eighth Ballon d’Or in November this year.
The Argentine beat the likes of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe to claim the award.
His win came after he led Argentina to a famous World Cup win in Qatar last December.
In the aftermath a number of questions over whether Messi was deserving of the 2023 Ballon d’Or were raised, amid his lack of contribution at club level compared to rival Haaland, who broke the Premier League’s seasonal goalscoring record and also won the treble with Man City.
Amid the controversy over the 2023 Ballon d’Or, Sneijder has now raised his concerns about the awarding of the Ballon d’Or 13 years ago.
“It was a bit unfair that I was not crowned with the 2010 Ballon d’Or and Messi won it,” Sneijder told AlHayah TV.
“Although I am not the type of person to cry over it, the Ballon d’Or is an individual award and what I prefer is winning collective trophies. If I had to choose between the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or, I would choose the Champions League I achieved. I am very happy with that title.”
Sneijder led Inter Milan to a famous treble, winning the Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League under the guidance of Jose Mourinho in 2010.
The Dutchman also impressed on the international stage too, helping the Netherlands reach the World Cup final in South Africa, before losing 1-0 to Spain.
At the time, Sneijder appeared to be the perfect candidate for the Ballon d’Or, but was pipped by Messi.
Credit – Daily Post
