- Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d’Or on Thursday
- Horncastle argues that Messi should ‘feel hard done by’ after missing out
- Looks to two key performances from Argentine superstar
- READ MORE: Full 2017 Ballon d’Or rankings as Tottenham’s England star places astonishingly high, Ronaldo beats Messi to prestigious award
It’s all about opinions in football, and James Horncastle has a belief that Lionel Messi can feel ‘hard done by’ after missing out on the Ballon d’Or this year.
Real Madrid and Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo of course officially won the award on Thursday night, taking his total haul to five as he equalled his rival’s collection.
Given he won the La Liga title, the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and has won a whole host of other individual accolades this year on a similar standing to the Ballon d’Or, few could argue with the results of the voting.
However, European football writer and BBC pundit James Horncastle has, as seen in the video below, as he has pointed to Messi’s performances at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid and his superb hat-trick for Argentina to get them to the World Cup next summer as two major reasons why he should have won.
Not taking anything away from those displays, but that’s surely a very weak argument for even the most ardent of Messi supporters as Ronaldo’s trophy collection says it all. It would come as no surprise if the Argentine ace bounced back next year and won it given how he’s started this season, but Ronaldo deserved his award this time round.
“Messi should feel hard done by this year”@JamesHorncastle points to:
?????? Hat-trick to get Argentina to the World Cup
???? Last minute winner at the Bernabeu#BallondOr pic.twitter.com/BdjNM4NBPS— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) December 7, 2017