Staff Writer Jamal Malik-Lyf critiques the Ballon d’Or award.
The Ballon d’Or is the ultimate prestige symbol in the footballing world. Ever since its inception 70 years ago, it has been the single greatest honour that a footballer can achieve, and for many, it has become their lifelong goal.
But inevitably, with this privileged status, the award has become subject to countless controversies. Over the past couple decades in particular, as football has become increasingly commercialised around the world, the Ballon d’Or has arguably become a trophy that recognises popularity rather than the actual best player that season.
This leads us to the question, what are the flaws of the Ballon d’Or, and why has it become so unfair?
The first and most prominent problem is how weighted the award is to attackers. Over the past 20 years, only one defender in Cannavaro has been able to achieve this iconic achievement, and in its entire history, the only goalkeeper to have ever won the Ballon d’Or was Yashin in 1963.
It doesn’t take an expert to understand why this is the case. When measuring performances, it is much easier to assess the number of goals and assists a player has produced rather than how well they defended for 90 minutes. The issue with this is that it leads to the Ballon d’Or becoming a glorified golden boot that solely rewards clinical goal finishers and leaves the rest of the team in the dust.
There have, of course, been exceptions to this general statement; in the past 8 years, both Rodri and Modric were able to take the trophy home for their huge influence on the pitch and their impressive ability to dictate the tempo of the match. But on the whole, the thesis stands, as attackers have won the Ballon d’Or a whopping 60 times out of just 70 ceremonies, giving them an 85% success rate compared to any other position.
The second significant flaw links to the huge globalisation and commercialisation that football has undergone. As the sport has spread around the whole world, it has brought with it countless revenue streams and enormous profitability, making it the multi-billion-pound business that it is today.
With football being the iconic money-making avenue that it is, and with the Ballon d’Or being its most significant trophy, the trophy has become heavily weighted in favour of the most popular players who will generate the most cash.
This has led many to be criminally overlooked by the award simply because they are not seen as marketable enough. Whilst I’m focusing on the flaws of the Ballon d’Or, this links to a wider problem within the sport, as organisations are treating football as a profitable business rather than the beautiful game that it is.
Returning to the issues of the Ballon d’Or, the third aspect surrounds how it impact the players. In the past, many seemed reluctant to accept an individual award within a team sport, but the dynamic has significantly changed as some have begun to openly pursue it with no shame.
Huge PR campaigns have been run to try and sway the public and the journalists who decide the winner into favouring one candidate over another. It is clear to see that for some players, their focus has been on winning an individual trophy rather than a prestigious title with their club.
And finally, I want to address the excessive amount of attention placed on international competitions, such as the World Cup. Whilst they are important and deserve to carry some weight, it’s unfair that a player could become a Ballon d’Or nominee after having a good few weeks, even if their performances throughout the season were mediocre.
At the end of the day, the Ballon d’Or is still a monumental achievement that many worthy players have won, and it deserves the admiration that it receives. In some instances, though, it has been surrounded with controversy, and it is clear to see why.
The flaws that I have highlighted are not without cause; rather, they are symptoms of the wider commercialisation of football itself. Only when it is treated like the beautiful game it is, rather than a profit-taking business, will we be able to see the change it needs.
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