He won his first ballon dor at 22 and now his seventh at 34.
He plays a sport in which he must run for 90 minutes (as opposed to the 6 minutes of actual (non running) playing time each game, for say Tom Brady).
He obviously does not use steroids because having a LeBron physique is useless in a sport that requires precision technique.
But... he's meek and humble looking... and from Argentina... so even if the rest of the planet celebrates him, we pay him no respect.
Not that he gives a shit.
He's far more appreciated world wide and he's far wealthier than almost any of our super athletes.
Link: https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/sports/lionel-messi-wins-seventh-career-ballon-dor/3424161/
Even within soccer it's very controversial to say Messi is the best. I think it's fair to say both Messi and CR7 are the best of this generation, I tend to say CR7 is better than him a bit though.
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If they only consider 1 year, Jorginho deserves it in term of performance and achievement (Champions League, Euro 2020). But DM is always unsung hero.
Messi is the system wherever he plays.
I don’t like this and I feel it actually hurts the teams he plays for.
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