The retired German midfielder questioned the fact that the Argentine captain was awarded the eighth Ballon d’Or in the 2022/23 season. “Here, whoever deserves it will win,” he said in an ironic tone during an event.
The former German footballer Toni Kroos had an unexpected criticism against Lionel Messi, who claimed that he was not worthy of the Golden Ball which he won in the season in which he was consecrated as world champion in Qatar 2022.
In the middle of the presentation of “The Icon League”, the German version of the Kings, the host of the event began to explain who votes for the best player of the tournament: “One part is the community and the other part is the presidents.”
That’s when the former Real Madrid player was interrupted, and in a joking tone he warned: “Or I’ll decide.”
Later, after the laughter and praise for the winner of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the host clarified: “It’s definitely not going to be like the Ballon d’Or. That’s what we can say.” And then Kroos attacked Messi: “No, the one who deserves it will win here.”
The statement surprised even his fellow event attendee, who seemed worried and replied: “We can edit that later,” but Kroos said: “No, no. Leave it as it is.”
The controversy arose in October 2023, when the prestigious magazine France Football awarded the captain of the Argentine national team the Ballon d’Or as the best player of the 2022/23 season.
The Rosario star won it for the eighth time in his career and beat out the vote Erling Haaland (2°) and Kylian Mbappé (3°).
It was an award that took as a reference the great special season that the Rosario native played due to the fact that he won the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Source: Ambito
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