Cristiano Ronaldo pipped Lionel Messi to the much-famed Ballon d’Or Award last night, with the Real Madrid attacker getting just 2% more votes than the Barca maestro.
In fairness, while Messi was excellent once again during 2013, you couldn’t really begrudge Ronaldo winning the award as he was simply sensational. Things may have turned out differently had Messi not picked up a couple of ill-timed injuries, but I think the right man won in the end.
The voting system is made up of votes from each captain, manager and a media representative of FIFA member nations.
Being Portugal’s captain, Ronaldo was also able to submit his ‘top 3′ players for the year and while he predictably ignored his closest rivals, the attacker did select Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil as one of picks. The 28-year-old perhaps slightly surprisingly voted for:
Radamel Falcao
Gareth Bale
Mesut Ozil
Obviously Ronaldo played alongside Ozil for the first half of 2013 at Madrid before he made his move to the Emirates, but he clearly feels the German international is among the top players in the world, which is always a nice feeling to know you have such a player in your team.
Some Arsenal fans are beginning to question Ozil’s contribution, as he often looks as though he’s playing in first gear, but we need to remember what a supreme talent he is and he’s still getting used to a new team and league. Plus, he’s still getting himself involved in key moments.
Take last night win over Villa for example, Ozil was far from his best yet it was his inch perfect through-ball that sent Nacho Monreal clear to set up the crucial opening goal. He may not run games or look like he’s putting in 100% effort all the time, but he is still having a very positive effect and there is certainly A LOT more to come from him.
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