sportbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Reveals The Player Who 'Deserved' To Win The Ballon d'Or

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Reveals The Player Who 'Deserved' To Win The Ballon d'Or

Zlatan Ibrahimovic reckons another player should have won the prize.

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has weighed in on the Ballon d'Or debate, naming the star player who 'deserved' to win the prestigious individual award.

Lionel Messi beat Robert Lewandowski to claim his record-extending seventh Ballon d'Or triumph on Monday.

The Paris Saint-Germain superstar edged out his Bayern Munich counterpart by a measly 33 points.

Image: PA
Image: PA
Image: PA
Image: PA

However, the decision to award Messi with his seventh Ballon d'Or title has not gone down well with fans and critics alike.

Not to mention Ibrahimovic who reckons Lewandowski 'deserved' the prize this year.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The AC Milan forward, though, did side with the Argentine when asked to pick between him and Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished sixth in the Ballon d'Or rankings.

On Messi vs. Ronaldo, he said via Get French Football News: "Both are very good.

"I'll say Messi because we played together."

Asked about his relationship with Messi, the Swede replied: "A professional one. Leo lives for football.

"But Lewandowski deserved the Ballon d'Or this year."

Image: PA
Image: PA

Ibrahimovic isn't the only current player who believes Messi was undeserving of the award.

Real Madrid's Toni Kroos says Messi winning the Ballon d'Or was 'absolutely not deserved' as he backed teammate Karim Benzema, who finished fourth in the standings.

He said: "It's absolutely not deserved.

"There is no doubt that Messi, with Cristiano [Ronaldo], has been the player of the last decade, but this year there should've been others ahead of him.

"For me, Karim would have been the number one if you were really looking for the best individual player of the last year, because I can see from close quarters what an outstanding footballer he is."

Was Messi deserving of the Ballon d'Or award? Let us know.

Featured Image Credit: PA/YouTube

Topics: Football, Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi