Its Ballon 'D bore if Messi wins again Tonight (World player of the Year)

IF Lionel Messi holds aloft the Ballon d’Or this evening it will be a grave injustice.

For it will mean Spain will again have failed to gain the recognition they deserve for winning the last three major tournaments — and an unprecedented Treble.

Sure, Messi deserves it — despite only winning the Copa Del Rey with Barcelona last year — after breaking every conceivable goalscoring record.

But back in 2006 Fabio Cannavaro won the award, then known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, after lifting the World Cup with Italy — despite Ronaldinho winning the Champions League and La Liga with Barca.

Winning a major international tournament used to matter. Yet just as Spain’s dominance began, there was a shift in favour of individual talent.

After Euro 2008, maestro Xavi missed out to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had won the Premier and Champions League with Manchester United.

In 2010, after Spain’s World Cup triumph, Xavi and Andres Iniesta lost out to Messi. Iker Casillas could have been shortlisted too.

Tonight, only Iniesta made the three-man shortlist from the Euro 2012 championship-winning team.

Yet Sergio Ramos and Casillas won more medals than Ronaldo, adding Euro 2012 to Real Madrid’s La Liga title.

Our Premier League boasts some of Spain’s best players and is the most popular league in the world.

Yet in the last three years it has not had a single star shortlisted — as trophies no longer count as much.

Otherwise Chelsea’s Juan Mata (Euro 2012, Champions League and FA Cup) and Manchester City’s David Silva (Euro and Premier League) should have made the cut.

Instead, Ronaldo is the third candidate in FIFA’S glitzy gala in Zurich - By ANTONY KASTRINAKIS


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