An ‘ international re-evaluation’ found that Pele would have been awarded the Ballon d’Or on seven occasions in his career, if he had been eligible like Lionel Messi
Argentine forward Lionel Messi may not be the record Ballon d’Or award holder after all (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
Lionel Messi may not be the record Ballon d’Or holder after all, with Brazilian legend Pele having been passed over for the award on seven occasions before South American players became eligible.
The Argentine icon has been involved in a virtual duopoly when it comes to winning the greatest individual prize in world football with Cristiano Ronaldo for nearly two decades. Despite his advancing years, Messi is the favourite to take home an eighth Ballon d’Or at the ceremony on October 30.
It is expected that the 36-year-old will be honoured for his exploits at the World Cup in Qatar, where he heroically led his country to the trophy as captain. The official record books would read that the Inter Miami talisman would be the first player to be crowned as the world’s best player on eight occasions.
However, an ‘ international re-evaluation’ was conducted by France Football, organisers of the Ballon d’Or, in 2016 and concluded that Pele would’ve been awarded the Ballon d’Or seven times if he was eligible but players based outside of Europe were not considered until 1995. They claimed that he would’ve won in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1970.
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In addition to this, Pele was retrospectively awarded an honorary Ballon d’Or in 2014 as he was honoured for his sterling career at long last by the organisers. The Brazilian legend would be visibly moved as he went up to collect the award on stage, with the three-time world champion having been reduced to tears.
After composing himself, the iconic former forward was able to summon some words of gratitude as he revealed that he felt his trophy collection was now ‘complete. Pele said: “I have so many so trophies and so many prizes but I was jealous because all those guys got the Ballon d’Or.
“At the time I didn’t get because I didn’t play in Europe and we didn’t have this prize in South America. But now I thank God I complete my trophies at home. Thank you very much.”
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Brazilan hero Pele received the FIFA Ballon d’Or Prix d’Honneur award in 2014
Despite this revelation, it is doubtful that Messi will be left too disappointed, especially since he openly admitted that he prefers honours won as a team than individually earlier this year. Speaking at his unveiling after signing for MLS outfit Inter Miami, the veteran star said: “I think I have said it many times during my career: the Ballon d’Or is a very important award because of what it means.
“For its recognition, it is one of the nicest awards in the world at an individual level. But I never gave importance, in quotation marks, to individual awards. The most important thing was the collective awards.
“I was lucky enough to win everything in my career, and the World Cup was what I was missing. That’s why now, after Qatar, I’m thinking much less about that award.
He added: “I’m not thinking about the Ballon d’Or. If it comes, fine; and if not, I am satisfied that I have achieved my objectives and…. now I have others with this club. We came here for this, to help the club win titles and on a personal level I’m also thinking about that.”
