Ballon d'Or Nominees

JPA

Messi favourite for Ballon d'Or
Ten Premier League stars up for prize


Lionel Messi is the leading contender among the 30-strong list of nominees for the Ballon d'Or award voted by France Football magazine.

Barcelona and Argentina ace Messi is favourite for the prize of European Footballer of the Year after inspiring Barcelona to an unprecented treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League last season.

Messi's Barca team-mates Thierry Henry, Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Yaya Toure are all in the running for the prize.

Last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo is among the contenders again following his move to Real Madrid.

Ronaldo's former Manchester United team-mates Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic also make the shortlist.

Liverpool duo Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are also nominated along with Arsenal pair Cesc Fabregas and Andrey Arshavin.

Chelsea trio John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba are also up for the award

There is not a single Italian player among the 30 nominees with the winner to be announced on 1st December.

Shortlist:

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Iker Casillas (Real

Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Diego (Juventus), Didier Drogba

(Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Kaka (Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Maicon (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona), Yaya Toure (Barcelona).

Darren Bent is waiting for the Ballon Rouge list to be announced....

Time Magazine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kun2g_NXS4

Peyton Manning

Time Magazine wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kun2g_NXS4

Silly. The Ballon d'Or and Balloon d'Or are two comletely different awards.

Giggs

CR 7

rarnes1 wrote: »

Giggs

Not til next year.
:rolleyes:

Mitch Connor

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

Not til next year.
:rolleyes:

He has been AMAZING this season.

Far better than he was last season. Dunno how he keeps doing it.

CR 7

Mitch Connor wrote: »

He has been AMAZING this season.

Far better than he was last season. Dunno how he keeps doing it.

Exactly, so he'll win the prize next year, when it'll take this season into account, and after he single-handedly win's the Champion's League.:cool:

JPA

It will be won, without any doubt, by Messi.

Time Magazine

Archimedes wrote: »

Silly. The Ballon d'Or and Balloon d'Or are two comletely different awards.

Oh, well in that case we all better stop messing and treat this as very serious business.

noodler

Is Arshavin there for half a season with Arsenal?

flahavaj

If there was any justice Iniesta would take this. But he won't. I'm sure it'll be a Messi/Ronaldo 1-2.:(

JPA

flahavaj wrote: »

If there was any justice Iniesta would take this. But he won't. I'm sure it'll be a Messi/Ronaldo 1-2.:(

Iniesta is great but there could be no complaints over a Messi victory.

Danye

JPA wrote: »

It will be won, without any doubt, by Messi.

Has to win it without a shadow of a doubt, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLRiM2F60lk

eZe^

flahavaj wrote: »

If there was any justice Iniesta would take this. But he won't. I'm sure it'll be a Messi/Ronaldo 1-2.:(

Hahah, are you serious? Iniesta was missing for half of last season? Messi was pure brilliance, and will be iirc the first player in the history of the competition to come in the top3 3 times in a row. Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be the other winners.

flahavaj

eZe^ wrote: »

Hahah, are you serious? Iniesta was missing for half of last season? Messi was pure brilliance, and will be iirc the first player in the history of the competition to come in the top3 3 times in a row. Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be the other winners.

Fair point. I just like seeing the guys who don't do the obvious stuff getting the praise they deserve sometimes.

curry-muff

noodler wrote: »

Is Arshavin there for half a season with Arsenal?

My thoughts exactly, surely he hasnt done enough to deserve a nomination, big fan and all but no way should he be on the list :eek:

Kirnsy

curry-muff wrote: »

My thoughts exactly, surely he hasnt done enough to deserve a nomination, big fan and all but no way should he be on the list :eek:

he also played half a season with Zenit. plus euros 2008? he's undoubtedly well worth a place amongst best players in the world.

fkt

Giggs, Terry and Lampard... Words fail me.

Podge2k7

Bandit12

fkt wrote: »

Giggs, Terry and Lampard... Words fail me.

Nah Giggs deserves to be in there. Terry and Lampard is a joke alright.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

fkt wrote: »

Giggs, Terry and Lampard... Words fail me.

Giggs has just had one of the best years of his playing career.

Zatman

It should be

1.Iniesta
2.Xavi
3.Messi


How did Terry get nominated and Gerard Pique not?

3hn2givr7mx1sc

It should be:

1. Messi
2. Iniesta
3. Xavi

It will be:

1. Messi
2. Ronaldo
3. Iniesta

When the results are announced they're will be an uproar fro English newspapers with headlines like: "They All Hate The Premier League", "Us Against Europe" etc. etc.

JPA

Is it not cool to like Messi anymore? He's the best player on the planet and was the best player of the year.

CHD

Bandit12 wrote: »

Nah Giggs deserves to be in there. Terry and Lampard is a joke alright.

Because they play for Chelsea, right?!

Your clueless obv.

8-10

eZe^ wrote: »

Hahah, are you serious? Iniesta was missing for half of last season? Messi was pure brilliance, and will be iirc the first player in the history of the competition to come in the top3 3 times in a row. Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be the other winners.

Michel Platini not only was top 3, but won the award in 1983, 84 and 85. Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbaur, and Johann Cruijff have all been top3 3 times in a row.

JPA wrote: »

Is it not cool to like Messi anymore? He's the best player on the planet and was the best player of the year.

Agreed, it's shocking that people don't think he should win. It's about time he got a Ballon D'Or IMO.

iregk

I'd agree on the Terry nomination, he shouldn't be on that list but Lampard should. He had a great season last year.

In my opion though it should be between 3 people. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi. Xavi is the winner for me though, everything Barca did last year came through him. In my opinion the best player in the world.

Frisbee

Messi
Xavi
Ronaldo

What Terry and Maicon are doing in there I'll never know...

JPA

Frisbee wrote: »

Messi
Xavi
Ronaldo

What Terry and Maicon are doing in there I'll never know...

Maicon is a top 3 right back in the world and played a big part in another title for Inter.

Mr Maroon

1. Lionel Messi (Argentine, FC Barcelone) : 473 points
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United puis Real Madrid) : 233 pts
3. Xavi (Espagne, FC Barcelone) : 170 pts
4. Andrès Iniesta (Espagne, FC Barcelone) : 149 pts
5. Samuel Eto'o (Cameroun, FC Barcelone puis Inter Milan) : 75 pts
6. Kaka (Brésil, Milan AC puis Real Madrid) : 58 pts
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Suède, Inter Milan puis FC Barcelone) : 50 pts
8. Wayne Rooney (Angleterre, Manchester United): 35 pts
9. Didier Drogba (Côte d'Ivoire, Chelsea): 33 pts
10. Steven Gerrard (Angleterre, Liverpool) : 32 pts
11. Fernando Torres (Espagne, Liverpool): 22 pts
12. Cesc Fabregas (Espagne, Arsenal) : 13 pts
13. Edin Dzeko (Bosnie, Wolfsburg) : 12 pts
14. Ryan Giggs (Pays de Galles, Manchester United) : 11 pts
15. Thierry Henry (France, FC Barcelone) : 9 pts
16. Luis Fabiano (Brésil, FC Séville), Nemanja Vidic (Serbie, Manchester United), Iker Casillas (Espagne, Real Madrid): 8 pts
19. Diego Forlan (Uruguay, Atletico Madrid) : 7 pts
20. Yoann Gourcuff (France, Bordeaux) : 6 pts
21. Andreï Archavine (Russie, Arsenal), Julio Cesar (Brésil, Inter Milan), Frank Lampard (Angleterre, Chelsea) : 5 pts
24. Maicon (Brésil, Inter Milan) : 4 pts
25. Diego (Brésil, Werder Brême puis Juventus Turin) : 3 pts
26. David Villa (Espagne, Valence), John Terry (Angleterre, Chelsea) : 2 pts
28. Franck Ribéry (France, Bayern Munich), Yaya Touré (Côte d'Ivoire, FC Barcelone) : 1 pt
30. Karim Benzema (France, Lyon puis Real Madrid): 0 pt

davyjose

Ronaldo > Messi

It's that simple: a more powerful, more influential footballer than Messi. Nothing against the guy - he's a joy to watch - but for me, Xavi and Iniesta were the real force behind Barca's dominance. Messi was the icing on the cake. Ronaldo was the attacking heartbeat for his team, with more strings to his bow.

Ush1

Messi has won, and all is right with the world.:)

gimmick

davyjose wrote: »

Ronaldo > Messi

It's that simple: a more powerful, more influential footballer than Messi. Nothing against the guy - he's a joy to watch - but for me, Xavi and Iniesta were the real force behind Barca's dominance. Messi was the icing on the cake. Ronaldo was the attacking heartbeat for his team, with more strings to his bow.

Given the fact that Iniesta missed almost half of last season that argument falls flat. It amazes me that at the start of the year, many said that Barca are a completely different side without Messi in it - not nearly as effective. Then all of a sudden, all Barcas success is die to Xaviesta? Make up your mids folks.

As for Ronaldo being better, time will tell. Both are young and great players with long careers ahead of them hopefully.

GavRedKing

Well done Leo Messi, deserved to win it IMO, on last years performance he was better then Ronaldo and thats just the simple truth any now this has being recognised with winning this award.

Peyton Manning

gavredking wrote: »

Well done Leo Messi, deserved to win it IMO, on last years performance he was better then Ronaldo and thats just the simple truth any now this has being recognised with winning this award.

Fair enough, but just so we're certain, by that logic you're also admitting that Wayne Rooney is better than Drogba, Lampard and Terry in the same respect?

Ush1

Archimedes wrote: »

Fair enough, but just so we're certain, by that logic you're also admitting that Wayne Rooney is better than Drogba, Lampard and Terry in the same respect?

The logic is it's the best player over the last year, nothing more.

And it makes me laugh when people say strings to Ronaldos bow and such. Hmm, Kevin Davies might be better in the air than Messi, anybody think he's the best player in the world?:rolleyes:

GavRedKing

Archimedes wrote: »

Fair enough, but just so we're certain, by that logic you're also admitting that Wayne Rooney is better than Drogba, Lampard and Terry in the same respect?

Dont know how you arrived at that logic, I didnt admit anything about Rooney, frankly I would take Drogba over Rooney everyday of the week, cant compare him with Terry and Lampard, different types of players.

What I said was that Messi is a better player then Ronaldo and that was the case last year, the year before hand Ronaldo just pipped him in terms of who the better player was, both extraordinary talents but I prefer Messi as IMO hes better, if you believe Ronaldo to be better, fair play to you, your entitled to your opinion.

eZe^

Jesus, some of ye really need to get over this. Messi had arguably one of the best seasons of any player in world football over the past two decades. 38 goals, 18 assists and he won the treble. Scored three times against Madrid, was top scorer in the CL, also scoring in the final. Biggest no brainer ever really.


Congrads Messi! I remember when he was a 17 year old tearing it up against Mallorca with Ronaldinho. You just knew he was special even though he was incredibly inefficient, he just had the aura about him. Amazing to see how complete he has become, you could play Messi in any of the 5 attacking positions now and he'd cope perfectly. Well deserved and delighted for him.

SlickRic

davyjose wrote: »

Ronaldo > Messi

It's that simple

it's really not.

messi had a wonderful season, epic in fact. countless goals and assists, plus he won everything with his club.

he has proved that, currently, he is the best the world has to offer.

let's not get fickle. both are magnificent in their own rights, and messi had the better season.

it's as simple as that.

Ush1

Love it!:D

Warper

Messi is and will be the best player player in the world over the next 10 years unless some other genius comes along. Watching him on Sunday he was electric. He has absolutely no fear and has supreme confidence in his own ability. Barca had 4 of the top 7 players (and thats excluding Eto'o) which is also some achievement.

Xavi6

Big up to the Xavster for claiming third spot.

eZe^

Amazing to watch how he's progressed. He started as a talented energy filled kid who didn't really think when he shot at goal, now he's got ice in his veins.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWUP2PLRPA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPreyWJ1WsA

HALA MESSI! :p:D

Peyton Manning

Ush1 wrote: »

The logic is it's the best player over the last year, nothing more.

And it makes me laugh when people say strings to Ronaldos bow and such. Hmm, Kevin Davies might be better in the air than Messi, anybody think he's the best player in the world?:rolleyes:

I was not disagreeing. By all means, Messi has been the best player in the world over the last year by a country mile. Im just saying that to take this list as gospel isnt too wise though, and was seeing what a Chelsea fan who says just because A is higher than B makes A a better player thinks when I pointed out that Rooney was higher than Drogba, Lampard and Terry.

tdv

Xavi6 wrote: »

Big up to the Xavster for claiming third spot.

I would have had Xavi & Iniesta ahead of Ronaldo. Not sure what Ronaldo did last season that was better than them.

tdv

davyjose wrote: »

Ronaldo > Messi

It's that simple: a more powerful, more influential footballer than Messi. Nothing against the guy - he's a joy to watch - but for me, Xavi and Iniesta were the real force behind Barca's dominance. Messi was the icing on the cake. Ronaldo was the attacking heartbeat for his team, with more strings to his bow.

Well each time they've faced each other Messi has totally out shined Ronaldo. And anyone with a half a brain would be able to see that from the 4 times they've faced each other that Messi is clearly a much greater presence & influential player than Ronaldo.

Messi even out shined him as an areial threat aswell the one aspect of there games Ronaldo is suppose to be so much more superior at.

CR 7

tdv wrote: »

Well each time they've faced each other Messi has totally out shined Ronaldo. And anyone with a half a brain would be able to see that from the 4 times they've faced each other that Messi is clearly a much greater presence & influential player than Ronaldo.

Messi even out shined him as an areial threat aswell the one aspect of there games Ronaldo is suppose to be so much more superior at.

Well anyone with half a brain can also tell that ronaldo is far superior in terms of aerial ability. Just because messi scored that one lucky looping header that ronaldo would also have scored, albeit without stretching. Have you ever seen ronaldo play, or is your argument based on what you read in the sun?

gimmick

Jesus H, why are Man U fans being so precious about this? Messi had a better season that Ronaldo last season. Remains to be seen who has the better one this time.

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

Well anyone with half a brain can also tell that ronaldo is far superior in terms of aerial ability. Just because messi scored that one lucky looping header that ronaldo would also have scored, albeit without stretching. Have you ever seen ronaldo play, or is your argument based on what you read in the sun?

This has to be one of the worst posts I have ever seen on this forum. Lucky looping header my ass. He knew what he was doing. And ya, Id say that one lucky looping header tilted the balance alright. Well done.

But sure Barcelona were just lucky in everything they done last season by that logic :rolleyes:

Paul Tergat

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

Well anyone with half a brain can also tell that ronaldo is far superior in terms of aerial ability. Just because messi scored that one lucky looping header that ronaldo would also have scored, albeit without stretching. Have you ever seen ronaldo play, or is your argument based on what you read in the sun?

Bit in bold is really unfair!


Messi deservedly takes the award this year!

Ush1

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

Well anyone with half a brain can also tell that ronaldo is far superior in terms of aerial ability. Just because messi scored that one lucky looping header that ronaldo would also have scored, albeit without stretching. Have you ever seen ronaldo play, or is your argument based on what you read in the sun?

Kevin Davies might be better in the air, better player than Messi. :rolleyes: I can retort with anyone with half a brain can tell Messi is far superior with his feet. You know, the most important part of football.

tdv

the_pm_of_17 wrote: »

Well anyone with half a brain can also tell that ronaldo is far superior in terms of aerial ability. Just because messi scored that one lucky looping header that ronaldo would also have scored, albeit without stretching. Have you ever seen ronaldo play, or is your argument based on what you read in the sun?

LMAO. The Ronaldo fans are really clutching straws. What difference dose it make if he had to stretch or not? What was lucky about it exactly? Yeah I've seen Ronaldo play & he's great goalscorer. But he dosent have the natural abillity that Messi has.