When FIFA and the Ballon d’Or clashed: A history of conflicting best player honors
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Two of football's most esteemed accolades, the Best FIFA Men's Player and the Ballon d'Or, have often taken centre stage in the sport. However, they have sometimes clashed on the title of the best player in the world. This has highlighted the difficulty of assessing greatness as well as the subtle differences across several points of view and approaches.
Over the years, football has been the topic of intense arguments across the world regarding the best way to celebrate personal achievements.
Rodri of Manchester City winning the Ballon d'Or and Vinicius Junior of Real Madrid scooping FIFA The Best Men's Player gong are just the most recent events in a lengthy run of years where these two honours have been in conflict with each other.
This begs the question of how often this has happened historically and what elements, arguments, and conflicts have shaped every distinction.
What are the Ballon d'Or and FIFA The Best Men's Player awards?
Originally reserved just for European players, France Football debuted the Ballon d'Or in 1956. Later on, though, it was extended to footballers from around the world. For many years, a panel of journalists decided the winner.
Introduced in 1991, FIFA's World Player of the Year was meant to identify the best player in the world by means of a vote among national team captains, coaches, and then fans and journalists.
Though they were once merged into the FIFA Ballon d'Or from 2010 to 2016, the two awards were later split and are now regarded as The Best FIFA Men's Player and the Ballon d'Or accordingly.
Both acknowledge outstanding individual accomplishment; nevertheless, their voting processes and priorities lead to differing results.
1. 2018: Luka Modrić
A major debate developed in 2018 regarding the performance of Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić, who received The Best FIFA Men's Player and Ballon d'Or awards after surprisingly guiding Real Madrid to the Champions League title and his national team to the FIFA World Cup final.
Though Lionel Messi performed brilliantly for Barcelona, his placement in fifth place at the Ballon d'Or event stirred some debate. Critics called Messi's absence from the top three a disgrace since it glorified international achievements over club-level supremacy.
2. 2020: Robert Lewandowski vs. no Ballon d’Or winner
The 2020 season affected by the epidemic revealed still another notable disparity. Having guided his team to a historic treble, including the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, and UEFA Champions League, and racking in an amazing 55 goals, Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski was rightfully named The Best FIFA Men's Player.
He was, however, denied the Ballon d'Or since the organisers decided that "exceptional circumstances" called for cancellation of the prize.
Fans and analysts who felt Lewandowski deserved accolades for his unmatched supremacy and that the award's cancellation deprived him of his rightful moment in footballing history responded fiercely against this decision.
3. 2021: Lionel Messi vs. Robert Lewandowski
The Ballon d'Or came back in 2021 bearing another disparity. Mostly because of his major role in Argentina's Copa América triumph—his first senior international trophy—Lionel Messi coveted the prestigious award.
On the other hand, by shattering Gerd Müller's long-standing Bundesliga record with 41 goals in a single season and proving extraordinary consistency for Bayern Munich, Robert Lewandowski was crowned The Best FIFA Men's Player. This choice highlighted the disparity between the narrative of global accomplishment in these accolades and the focus on personal statistics.
4. 2024: Vinicius Junior vs. Rodri
In 2024, the differences between the two medals became distinct once more. Vinicius Junior was crowned FIFA The Best Men's Player following an extraordinary season in which he scored 24 goals and was instrumental in Real Madrid's domestic and European triumphs—including a pivotal performance in the UEFA Champions League final.
By contrast, Rodri's continuous performance as Manchester City's midfield anchor—which included a key goal in the Champions League final and his contributions to their historic treble—earned him the Ballon d'Or.
Real Madrid players and staff boycotted the Ballon d'Or event in protest of the organisation's handling of the award following this choice.
Key factors behind the disagreements
For some very salient reasons, the Ballon d'Or and The Best FIFA Men's Player recipients often differ. One factor is that the FIFA award takes into account the votes of national team captains, coaches, and supporters, while the Ballon d'Or is just decided by the ballots of journalists.
This produces a more inclusive procedure; nonetheless, the results differ since the process may not be as analytically strict. For example, journalists responded more passionately to Messi's Copa América triumph in 2021 than to Lewandowski's statistical achievements, which attracted the larger FIFA vote base.
One more important consideration is the difference between individual and team achievements underlined by these medals.
Players whose individual genius most clearly reflects in major events like the World Cup or the Champions League have traditionally received the Ballon d'Or.
Conversely, FIFA's award strives to achieve a balance between team success and individual excellence. This was seen in 2024 when Vinicius's match-winning efforts for Real Madrid enthralled a larger audience than Rodri's lack of flamboyant flair, which drove Manchester City’s triple-winning season.
In these contexts, the timing of events is particularly important since the Best FIFA Men's Player assesses the previous season while the Ballon d'Or measures a player's accomplishments over a whole year.
This difference often leads to different narratives. For instance, Modrić's World Cup performance had a major impact on his Ballon d'Or award in 2018, while FIFA's accolade acknowledged his consistent performance across Real Madrid's club season.
Further complicating the assessments are public opinion and media influence. Voters are more likely to support players whose achievements are highlighted by gripping narratives.
Messi's 2021 Ballon d'Or success was a perfect illustration of these phenomena since his much awaited international victory with Argentina exceeded Lewandowski's statistically better club performance. This has led to debates about the impact of emotional considerations in such choices.