Igor Belanov: ‘Due to Messi and Ronaldo, many did not receive the “Ballon d'Or”

The owner of the “Ballon d’Or” in 1986, Igor Belanov, shared that in his opinion, due to the status of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, many did not receive the “Ballon d'Or”.

— For sixteen years, there was a hegemony of two footballers — Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who were only “interrupted” twice by Luka Modric and Karim Benzema. I agree that in most cases, the famous Portuguese and Argentine deserved the recognition completely. However, in my opinion, those who deserved the “Ballon d'Or” more than the named stars were unjustly left without it. These are players like Spaniard Andres Iniesta and Pole Robert Lewandowski. This year, there was much talk about the possibility of the honorary prize being awarded to Brazilian Vinicius Junior, but quite unexpectedly it went not to him, but to Spaniard Rodri. To be honest, like most people from the world of football, I was in shock,' shared Igor Belanov.