Lionel Messi's historic 90-goal year has likely secured his record fourth straight Ballon d'Or, but he does not seem to have the consensus vote among a number of major players.
Messi himself stated last week that he wanted Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta to win the award and a number of other players seem interested in seeing the Spaniard win as well. Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic has openly confessed that he voted for Iniesta take the award as the best player in the world.
"I voted for Iniesta, because he won Euro 2012 and has done incredible work at Barcelona," the Paris Saint-Germain forward said. "Messi doesn't do it all alone. He has extraordinary players around him who provide the final ball, among them Iniesta. I really hope that he'll get it this year, because Messi is young and can still win it again many times."
Ibrahimovic was nominated among the top 23 players in the world by FIFA, but failed to make to the final three despite a strong year for his new club and his country. Despite Ibrahimovic's vote for Iniesta he does concede that Messi "is the best in the world. He plays like he's on the PlayStation- it'0s incredible." The Swedish striker does however add that Messi's lack of a team championship in 2012 works against him. He notes that Cristiano Ronaldo (the third contestant for the top award) won the Spanish League title and that Iniesta won the Euro 2012.
The award will be announced on January 7, 2013.
Related Articles
Messi vs. Ronaldo Ballon D'Or 2012 Bout: Messi Scores Goal 90; Ronaldo Fails to Win This Week
Ballon D'Or 2012: Messi, Fernandez Want Iniesta to Win Award; Making a Case for Barcelona's Midfielder
Messi vs. Ronaldo Ballon D'Or 2012 Bout : Messi Breaks Muller's Record with 86th Goal in 2012
Messi vs. Ronaldo Ballon D'Or 2012 Bout : Messi One Goal Away From Muller's 85; Ronaldo Delivers Against Atletico Madrid
FIFA Ballon d'Or 2012: Messi, Ronaldo, Iniesta Are Top Three Contenders
FIFA Ballon d'Or 2012 Nominees: Why Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez Could Finish in the Top Three
For More Articles, See Below