The fallout from the newly announced Ballon d'Or nominations shows no sign of slowing. In Catalan circles the mood has turned sour, with several of Barcelona's biggest names missing from the 30-man shortlist.
Alfredo Martinez put it bluntly today, Sunday, in the Catalan newspaper "Sport": "Is winning the Ballon d'Or that important? Awards that do not include Pedri and Raphinha among the 30 best players of the season lose their credibility from the outset."
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Football, he argued, will always come down to taste and subjective opinion. But some calls are "extremely obvious", like "choosing players like Cunha and Mane and excluding Barcelona's geniuses, who should be, almost indisputably, among the top 10 or 15 players in the world".
"The great truth"
He continued: "The great truth is that we will never agree, because everyone has their preferences, and that is natural. In the end, one ends up thinking about how important winning the Ballon d'Or really is, and to what extent the player, and above all his club, needs this accolade. And you will be astonished by some of the historic and great names who have repeatedly been dropped from this narcissistic race towards a Ballon d'Or nomination."
Martinez went on: "In the end, it is just another product of marketing and image selling. Indeed, the organising company profits from it more than the players themselves. It is certain that most club fans appreciate their players whether they win the Ballon d'Or or not, and will regard them with the same value on the day before and the day after winning it. They know better than anyone what these players offer their team, and their true level on the pitch."
The award, he added, has been handed too much power. "We have all given the Ballon d'Or an exaggerated authority, as if it has become almost a doctrine, whereas in reality it is merely a group of journalists, each with their own tastes, who are supposed to tell us who is best: this player or that one. And there is a huge and highly significant list of great players who have had amazing careers, did not win the Ballon d'Or, and were no less great because of it."
His verdict was scathing: "Let them give it to whomever they want. Barcelona already knows the Ballons d'Or it has within its squad. Thank you."
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