Messi reveals who he will vote for in this year's Ballon D'Or

Messi reveals who he will vote for in this year's Ballon d'Or

31-Oct-2012 1:45:00 AM

The Argentine superstar admits some of his club colleagues are deserving of the award, and has played down the supposed rivalry between himself and Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi believes that two of his Barcelona team-mates will receive his vote for the Ballon d'Or this year, and also claims that a couple of Real Madrid players should be considered for the honour.

The brilliant 25-year-old has already won the award three times, becoming only the fourth player to ever do so in the history of the game, but conceded that he will have to face a year without the trophy at some point.

"Do I think about it [the Ballon d'Or]? No!" admitted Messi, speaking to Marca.

"When the time comes, it may be different... I've been fortunate to receive the award three times, it's massive, unbelievable. But I'm going to come to a year where I will not win it."

"My playing style has always been the same. I have never looked for it, but it has been like that since I was small. One thing for sure is that I learned a lot in youth football."

"Here [at Barcelona] we work in a different way with the ball and the tactical system. I came from Argentina where we did not do anything like that, everything was about running and not much else.

"I was lucky that Tito Vilanova came to Barca. From that moment on, I came to play and my career changed at Barca's youth teams."

Messi was keen to share his thoughts on other potential suitors for the award, and his praise wasn't reserved for only his domestic and international team-mates.

"I do not know who is on the shortlist. I will vote for Xavi, Andres [Iniesta] and definitely one of my countrymen.

"I think it could be [Iker] Casillas' Ballon d'Or, he is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, and also Cristiano [Ronaldo].

"When something happens, the press look to compare us. We are rivals on the field, nothing more. They look around ourselves to compete. It's tiring me a bit," conceded the Argentine.