Felipe Melo has made his choice for the Ballon d’Or, and it is Lionel Messi. The former Brazil international and midfielder said the award should go to the Argentine, then set out why he would not give it to several other leading candidates.
Melo considered some of the other names who could be in the running. He said he could argue for Raphinha, who had a good season with Barcelona but did not make an impact with Brazil at the World Cup. He also mentioned Kylian Mbappé, who scores a lot of goals but did not win anything with Real Madrid, and Lamine Yamal, who from Spain did not have a World Cup like Messi did.
For Melo, Messi’s performances for both club and country settle the debate. He described Messi as the best player at the World Cup and said he had a great season in MLS, concluding that Messi has to win the Ballon d’Or in his opinion.
Melo’s admiration extended to the historical debate. He called Messi the greatest of all time, noting that he did not see Pelé play or Zico play, even though Zico is one of his idols. He listed Ronaldo ‘O Fenômeno,’ Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zidane and Neymar among the greats, but still placed Messi above them all.
He was careful not to diminish Cristiano Ronaldo. Melo said he is a huge fan of the Portuguese forward because he is an incredible professional, adding that at 41 years old Cristiano looks in better shape than an 18-year-old. The distinction, in Melo’s view, is that when Cristiano was 25 or 30 he did everything on his own, but now he needs the team to create opportunities for him. Messi does not, Melo argued: if the game is tough and tight, Messi drops back and sets up his teammates to score, which is why he is a complete player.
Melo also coined the term ‘Messianic cycle’ to describe the phenomenon surrounding the Argentine captain. He said Messi draws a huge following wherever he goes, with people supporting him and wearing the Argentine jersey just because of him. That had happened at one point with Brazil and Ronaldo, Neymar and Romario, Melo said, but Messi is something else.