(SPOILER WARNING)2018 Ballon d'Or final list has leaked

[Pouchkine]

He obviously wasn't. He even said Xavi, Iniesta and Sneijder should've won it some years and he is right.

Love the ******** crying all over the place.

That's exactly what he meant. Finally it's not only about goalscorers and the bigger "stars".

 

[Pouchkine]

Dude there's 10 months of football that has been played being on fire for 4 of them is almost half the year... And Messi hasn't been on fire just the past 4 months hell Stuani in la liga has more goals than him this season.

I would love to know who were this couple of EPL players that have been better than him... please say Kane. LOL

Who cares if your guy sets scoring and assists records vs. weak La Liga Teams, your boy was bad at the World Cup again and once again outshine by others in the CL as well when it mattered. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Who cares if your guy sets scoring and assists records vs. weak La Liga Teams, your boy was bad at the World Cup again and once again outshine by others in the CL as well when it mattered. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

Well for one thing Madrid cares and the other thing is he's the leading scoring in all of Europe. Unless you thing that only matters is when you score on village teams like Southampton.

The best players shine in the big games. Messi once again wasn't there this year. The guy is Mario Lemieux with Barcelona vs. bad teams and Russ Courtnall vs. good teams.

Hmm when it mattered? Ok elimination game against Ecuador down 1-0 he puts up 3 straight goals to drag Argentina into the WC.

Elimination game against Nigeria he scores.

Knock out stage match against France the eventual winners (who beat Croatia/Modric) He puts up 2 assists.

Thank you, next.

 

[robertmac43]

The best players shine in the big games. Messi once again wasn't there this year.

You must put a lot of stock into the pens that Messi has missed over the years...

I don't think his lack of shining was a big issue in this last year let alone in past years are you are making it sound like.

 

[Corto]

Knock out stage match against France the eventual winners (who beat Croatia/Modric) He puts up 2 assists.

Thank you, next.

To be fair, one was a lucky shot that ended up being an assist (first goal) and the other was a garbage time goal which hardly mattered.
France shut him out just like they shut everyone else out that tournament. As soon as Pavard scored, there was only gonna be one winner.

Yes, he's the best player on the planet.
No, he didn't have the best year. His goals-per-game was inferior to Ronaldo (for example) and Ronaldo won the CL, top scoring it.
In the two best-on-best competitions Messi bowed out fairly early.
I don't get why that's so hard to understand.
He did not have a great WC by any means, and vs Croatia (a game Argentinians themselves said hurt more than the loss vs France, noone takes group games "easy" in a WC) he was completely invisible.
And his CL campaign, by his own standards (and that of Ronaldo) wasn't exactly brilliant either.

 

[TheLeastOfTheBunch]

Don’t they both have the same number of goals scored, with CR having more penalties converted? And this is with Messi playing a similar role on both Argentina/Barcelona teams where he’s relied on to be the difference-maker goals wise but also the creative player in midfield. Not to mention it took a Messi hat-trick in the last round of qualifiers to even bring that Argentina team in the World Cup.

Messi was absolutely brilliant this year, it’s kinda’ ridiculous to see the sentiment of “Leo not having the best year,” when in reality that’s far from the truth.

This about sums it up:

[tweet]1002293801849892864?s=21[/tweet]

 

[Pouchkine]

Well for one thing Madrid cares and the other thing is he's the leading scoring in all of Europe. Unless you thing that only matters is when you score on village teams like Southampton.



Hmm when it mattered? Ok elimination game against Ecuador down 1-0 he puts up 3 straight goals to drag Argentina into the WC.

Elimination game against Nigeria he scores.

Knock out stage match against France the eventual winners (who beat Croatia/Modric) He puts up 2 assists.

Thank you, next.

Tell me how many goals Messi has scored for Argentina in the last 10 or so elimination games at World Cups and Copa America?

 

[Pouchkine]

Don’t they both have the same number of goals scored, with CR having more penalties converted? And this is with Messi playing a similar role on both Argentina/Barcelona teams where he’s relied on to be the difference-maker goals wise but also the creative player in midfield. Not to mention it took a Messi hat-trick in the last round of qualifiers to even bring that Argentina team in the World Cup.

Messi was absolutely brilliant this year, it’s kinda’ ridiculous to see the sentiment of “Leo not having the best year,” when in reality that’s far from the truth.

This about sums it up:

[tweet]1002293801849892864?s=21[/tweet]

He didn't show up in the big moments in CL and World Cup vs. Croatia and France. Go look at his record in elimination games at Copa America and World Cup you will get a real wake up call, the guy disappears.

 

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

To be fair, one was a lucky shot that ended up being an assist (first goal) and the other was a garbage time goal which hardly mattered.
France shut him out just like they shut everyone else out that tournament. As soon as Pavard scored, there was only gonna be one winner.

Yes, he's the best player on the planet.
No, he didn't have the best year. His goals-per-game was inferior to Ronaldo (for example) and Ronaldo won the CL, top scoring it.
In the two best-on-best competitions Messi bowed out fairly early.
I don't get why that's so hard to understand.
He did not have a great WC by any means, and vs Croatia (a game Argentinians themselves said hurt more than the loss vs France, noone takes group games "easy" in a WC) he was completely invisible.
And his CL campaign, by his own standards (and that of Ronaldo) wasn't exactly brilliant either.

Pavard's goal was lucky too hope that means it doesn't count. Guess Argentina win then. LOL

Goal per game? Is that the threshold to judge players now? Forget total goals total assists I guess.

What's so hard to believe that he was the best player in the world last year but only managed to win a double and not losing in the league while he played. Barca had no business winning anything last year and did pretty well all things considered because of him. Not hard to understand.

Tell me how many goals Messi has scored for Argentina in the last 10 or so elimination games at World Cups and Copa America?

What does that have to do with 2018? How many finals has Kane gotten to scratch that has he done anything outstanding in his career just yet?

He didn't show up in the big moments in CL and World Cup vs. Croatia and France. Go look at his record in elimination games at Copa America and World Cup you will get a real wake up call, the guy disappears.

Except he showed up in the 3 biggest games of the season for his teams...You're on the sauce

 

[JJ68]

Messi is the most complete player in the game. He can do whatever Modric can in his spot but Modric could never dream of doing what Messi can in his position.

Messi is magic.

 

[JJ68]

 

[les Habs]

It was like 7th, but who's counting and I would've still done it again. As for my views, truth hurts brah! And my avatars are GOAT, Persona 5 is one of the best games ever made. You're okay yourself to friend, I mean second place is first loser, but whatever.

I meant your first overall pick. As for the rest of it, please re-post in English.

He obviously wasn't. He even said Xavi, Iniesta and Sneijder should've won it some years and he is right.

Love the ******** crying all over the place.

Wow, did you figure that out all by yourself?

The best players shine in the big games. Messi once again wasn't there this year. The guy is Mario Lemieux with Barcelona vs. bad teams and Russ Courtnall vs. good teams.

Your ignorance would be forgivable were it not so embarrassing. You might want to have a look at his entire career including multiple CL Finals. Biggest game player on the planet, easily. You obviously don't want many matches if any though so this isn't a surprise.

To be fair, one was a lucky shot that ended up being an assist (first goal) and the other was a garbage time goal which hardly mattered.
France shut him out just like they shut everyone else out that tournament. As soon as Pavard scored, there was only gonna be one winner.

Yes, he's the best player on the planet.
No, he didn't have the best year. His goals-per-game was inferior to Ronaldo (for example) and Ronaldo won the CL, top scoring it.
In the two best-on-best competitions Messi bowed out fairly early.
I don't get why that's so hard to understand.
He did not have a great WC by any means, and vs Croatia (a game Argentinians themselves said hurt more than the loss vs France, noone takes group games "easy" in a WC) he was completely invisible.
And his CL campaign, by his own standards (and that of Ronaldo) wasn't exactly brilliant either.

LOL, the Madridista revisionism is always strong with this one. "Garbage time goal." Of course @Corto would never say that about Ronaldo.

Goals-per-match? And what about shots-per-goal? What of the rest of their game? Absolute joke that someone would compare their games, but this wouldn't be your first effort.

Bowed out fairly early? QFs is early? Losing to the eventual winners in the other tournament by only one goal thanks to his "garbage time assist" and but a smaller margin than Croatia no less.

So Messi didn't have a great World Cup and yet you're comparing him to Ronaldo.

So his CL campaign wasn't exactly brilliant by his own standards, but better yet by Ronaldo's? He was rated Man of the Match more than any other player, including Ronaldo who played about 50% more minutes and as always averaged more shots per match.

Yeah, @Corto definitely thinks Messi is the best player. Just read his posts because he'll tell you time and again while he waxes poetic about Ronaldo.

 

[Corto]

Pavard's goal was lucky too hope that means it doesn't count. Guess Argentina win then. LOL

What's that even mean? Pavard meant to shoot and scored a worldie. Yeah, he's not gonna do it again for 20 years, but he got it right and it went in.
Messi's was a shot that was relatively weak and got deflected to end up being an assist.

Goal per game? Is that the threshold to judge players now? Forget total goals total assists I guess.

I mean, Ronaldo played 9 games less in La Liga (and it was the same in 2017 when Real won the league).
Partly because of suspension and partly because ZZ rotates.
In that sense, context matters. Ronaldo ended up with less total goals than Messi in 2017 too, but played less games and was absolutely out-of-this-world down the stretch both in La Liga and in the CL.

Except he showed up in the 3 biggest games of the season for his teams...You're on the sauce

I hate this whole narrative of players "not showing up". It's Messi, most of the time you cannot contain him, but sometimes it happens.
He, and his team, the favorites, the most expensive team in the world, went out to Roma in the quarters.
His WC was rather pedestrian, especially for his standards.
He came nowhere close to winning the 2 biggest competition and the ONLY best-on-best competitions last season.

Yes, he's the best player in the world. And in the history.
No, he didn't have the best season.
Yes, team achievements matter.
IN ANY SPORT ON THIS PLANET.
Players from team who bomb out in the 2nd round don't win the Conn Smythe, and feel free to insert comparison with any other team sport here.

I don't what that is. Random situations of Messi v Modric from their careers where Messi came out on top.
A - the whole video is ridiculous and a reaction to the vote, so bad it's hilarious (there's actually a few examples of Messi passing the ball past Modric... wtf lol)
B - since when is Modric a Gattuso that his game is just defense and stopping Messi or whoever
C - none of the clips are from last season (I mean... some are from 2007 lol)
D - I can do that to, find a pointless video from a couch fan labeled Modric DESTROYING and HUMILIATING people and posts. Means f**k all as far as this subject goes. In fact, I think I will. Oh look, there's Messi being "destroyed" in that clip as well.

I guess that means Messi's trash because he got beat a few times?

Also, your opinion of

He can do whatever Modric can in his spot but Modric could never dream of doing what Messi can in his position.

Shows me you either don't understand football or don't care to understand it. Modric is one of the most complete midfielders in the last 30 years, and for my money, only Xavi and Iniesta are in his tier.
Playing in central midfield is something completely different to what Messi plays.
Of course Modric can't do what Messi does offensively. Noone can.
That doesn't mean Messi would make a better CM than Modric, a better fulback than Lahm or a better CB than Nesta.
And yes, a CM role is THAT different from what Messi plays, it's not just dropping deep to get the ball here and there.
Utter nonsense.

 

[les Habs]

What's that even mean? Pavard meant to shoot and scored a worldie. Yeah, he's not gonna do it again for 20 years, but he got it right and it went in.
Messi's was a shot that was relatively weak and got deflected to end up being an assist.



I mean, Ronaldo played 9 games less in La Liga (and it was the same in 2017 when Real won the league).
Partly because of suspension and partly because ZZ rotates.
In that sense, context matters. Ronaldo ended up with less total goals than Messi in 2017 too, but played less games and was absolutely out-of-this-world down the stretch both in La Liga and in the CL.



I hate this whole narrative of players "not showing up". It's Messi, most of the time you cannot contain him, but sometimes it happens.
He, and his team, the favorites, the most expensive team in the world, went out to Roma in the quarters.
His WC was rather pedestrian, especially for his standards.
He came nowhere close to winning the 2 biggest competition and the ONLY best-on-best competitions last season.

Yes, he's the best player in the world. And in the history.
No, he didn't have the best season.
Yes, team achievements matter.
IN ANY SPORT ON THIS PLANET.
Players from team who bomb out in the 2nd round don't win the Conn Smythe, and feel free to insert comparison with any other team sport here.



I don't what that is. Random situations of Messi v Modric from their careers where Messi came out on top.
A - the whole video is ridiculous and a reaction to the vote, so bad it's hilarious (there's actually a few examples of Messi passing the ball past Modric... wtf lol)
B - since when is Modric a Gattuso that his game is just defense and stopping Messi or whoever
C - none of the clips are from last season (I mean... some are from 2007 lol)
D - I can do that to, find a pointless video from a couch fan labeled Modric DESTROYING and HUMILIATING people and posts. Means f**k all as far as this subject goes. In fact, I think I will. Oh look, there's Messi being "destroyed" in that clip as well.

I guess that means Messi's trash because he got beat a few times?

Also, your opinion of

Shows me you either don't understand football or don't care to understand it. Modric is one of the most complete midfielders in the last 30 years, and for my money, only Xavi and Iniesta are in his tier.
Playing in central midfield is something completely different to what Messi plays.
Of course Modric can't do what Messi does offensively. Noone can.
That doesn't mean Messi would make a better CM than Modric, a better fulback than Lahm or a better CB than Nesta.
And yes, a CM role is THAT different from what Messi plays, it's not just dropping deep to get the ball here and there.
Utter nonsense.

So says the guy who compared Ronaldo to Messi last season because Ronaldo's role was just like Messi's. I won't even bother with the selective stats.

 

[les Habs]

I'd also love for @Corto to tell everyone how much Barça's squad, the most expensive team in the World, cost when you of course factor out Coutinho who was cup-tied as well as how much Madrid's squad cost. I'd love to the know the difference in transfer fees, and that's not even factoring in the cost in 2017-18 terms. What's the difference @Corto?

 

[maclean]

Watching these clips, I have to say - did Messi and Modric once take a time machine to do a home and home series in the 80s?

 

[Pouchkine]

How many goals your boy Messi has scored in the 2014WorldCup 2015Copa 2016Copa 2018WorldCup elimination games? Please remind us how your special player does when it matters the most? Great players are not just great against small clubs, they show up in the big moments against other good clubs...

 

[Vasilevskiy]

The best players shine in the big games. Messi once again wasn't there this year. The guy is Mario Lemieux with Barcelona vs. bad teams and Russ Courtnall vs. good teams.

Please, stop.

 

[YNWA14]

Messi is the best player in the world.

There have been players that have been more deserving of the Bd'O over the last decade than Modric who haven't won.

You can make a case that Modric deserved it this year.

 

[Corto]

Messi is the best player in the world.

There have been players that have been more deserving of the Bd'O over the last decade than Modric who haven't won.

You can make a case that Modric deserved it this year.

I think that's fair.

In the end, Modric won the CL, led his team to the WC final, won CWC MVP, FIFA Best, B d'Or, etc.
He literally swept the awards, voted by players, managers, journalists, etc.
Without the club and NT accomplishments, he doesn't even get close - regardless of being widely regarded as the best midfielder of the last half-decade.

Again, you can shut your ears and scream "NONONONOO" all you want, but winning and going far in the CL and the WC matters.
It always has, it always will.

...

As for my comment about Barca and Messi being the most expensive team etc., I didn't think I was being edgy or anything of the sort.
My point was they're not Sevilla or some underdog, they're one of the favorites.
Barca is a favorite year after year in the CL, and they'll be the first to tell you they consider bowing out in the quarters an utter failure.
Again, I really didn't think I was being controversial in any way here.
But for what it's worth, they are in fact the highest-paid team in the world: Barcelona tops the 2018 list of the highest-paid sports teams in the world with $13.8 million average annual salary

 

[Pouchkine]

How many goals your boy Messi has scored in the 2014WorldCup 2015Copa 2016Copa 2018WorldCup elimination games? Please remind us how your special player does when it matters the most? Great players are not just great against small clubs, they show up in the big moments against other good clubs...

I wait for the answer.

 

[YNWA14]

How many goals your boy Messi has scored in the 2014WorldCup 2015Copa 2016Copa 2018WorldCup elimination games? Please remind us how your special player does when it matters the most? Great players are not just great against small clubs, they show up in the big moments against other good clubs...

I wait for the answer.

I guess we can all agree that Miroslav Klose is better than Messi then?

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I guess we can all agree that Miroslav Klose is better than Messi then?

Of course not, but one could argue he had better world cup performances.

 

[Pouchkine]

For his National Team yes.

 

[Pouchkine]

Of course not, but one could argue he had better world cup performances.

Argue? Like what 13-14 goals to a couple in the group stages...