The Ballon d’Or debate has taken another turn after former Argentina striker Sergio Aguero publicly backed Lionel Messi, arguing that the veteran forward’s performances deserve greater consideration in the race for the prestigious individual award.
Agüero emphasised the role of football on the international stage when suggesting that footballers’ performances at the FIFA World Cup should be considered more important than a UEFA Champions League title when it comes to the final say.
“Messi is the one who deserves to win it the most,” said Agüero. Playing well in the UEFA Champions League is not the same as playing well in the FIFA World Cup and the latter is more valuable.
The former Manchester City attacker also referred to the fact that Messi is getting older in his evaluation. Messi, 39, can perform at the highest level, which is another reason for his success, Agüero said.
“Messi at 39 years old, what he is doing has much greater value than a young player aged 21 to 25 years old,” he said.
Agüero’s words are another voice in a debate on the way the Ballon d’Or should be viewed. The award is always based on individual performances and achievements over the specified evaluation period and team success, consistency and performance in major competitions can contribute to the debate about individual candidates.
The former Argentina international’s point is emphasising on the importance of World Cup games over club games.
One reason behind Aguero’s case is his longevity, both in the past or in the future. As more youngsters can compete for the big individual awards, Aguero thinks it should be recognised for being good at the older age level.
His involvement brings the Ballon d’Or conversation away from the numbers and the trophies and leads to some interesting questions regarding the assessment of international success, consistency, competition level and age of the top contenders.
