“Absolutely not deserved,” Player claims his vote in Ballon d’Or went to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo despite him not voting for them
Former player claims fraud activities is destroying football
The Ballon d’Or scandal has now come under the limelight as former player Juvenal Edjogo-Owono, who represented the Equatorial Guinea national team, has erupted as he claims that the ceremony is rigged. He was eligible to vote for the prize as he was captain of his national team. However, he was shocked with the results as there came a completely different outcome. He claims his votes were tampered with and he did not opt for the players which FIFA claims were voted by him.
“What little I can say about this type of award is that in 2013, I voted for my three players for the Ballon d’Or, and I sent my votes, and in the end when it was made public, the list of who voted for who, my votes were different. It said I voted for Messi, Cristiano, and I don’t know who else, but I didn’t vote for any of them. That’s why I say, I don’t believe in absolutely anything about those awards. Since then, I’ve thought these awards have no value”, claimed Owono.
He claimed he voted for Didier Drogba and Andres Iniesta in his top 3 contrary to the voting forms which insisted he voted for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Following this outburst, many other players have claimed multiple allegations against FIFA and that football awards are rigged. Toni Kroos was one such player who insisted Robert Lewandowski should have won the award ahead of Lionel Messi in 2021. He claimed, “It is absolutely not deserved. There is no doubt that Messi, with Cristiano, has been the player of the last decade, but this year, there should’ve been others ahead of him.”
Iker Casillas has a similar view as well as he claimed some of the awards were not legitimate and football awards are rigged to benefit a group of individuals rather than giving it to the most outstanding player of the season. There are multiple allegations against FIFA for their prior decisions regarding the award nominees and winners and there is no doubt Messi and Ronaldo will be the most affected by this scandal if it turns out to be true.
Related: Lionel Messi threatened after family’s store attacked in Argentina
Karim Benzema’s reaction after Messi beats him to the FIFA Best Player award
Karim Benzema has been one of the most prolific strikers in Europe for the last decade. He is second in Real Madrid’s all-time top scorers’ list and top assists provider. The Frenchman enjoyed a stellar 2021/22 campaign which saw Los Blancos secure a memorable double under Carlo Ancelotti. Benzema was the side’s most important pillar, with his 27 La Liga goals and 15 Champions League strikes thrusting Real to glory in both competitions. As a result, he emerged as a clear favorite to win the FIFA Best Player award. However, he has voiced his displeasure after Messi was selected ahead of him through a series of controversial social media posts.
He first posted a video of a man repeating the words: “Liar, yes, you liar” which aims to take a dig at the officials and the award winner Messi. The Ballon d’Or winner then shared a list of his achievements from another account pointing to the fact that he had six major trophies on both the international and club front, including a series of individual awards. This came as a surprise as Benzema defended Messi when La Pulga was criticized for his lacklustre performances in his first stint at PSG and even went to claim that: “Those who don’t know Messi, do not know about football“.
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