Sports
“Messi didn’t deserve it” — Zidane reignites football’s biggest debate
In a confident statement, Zinedine Zidane has reignited one of football’s biggest debates—Andres Iniesta deserved the 2010 Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi.
Despite Messi’s record-breaking 47-goal season and La Liga triumph, Zidane insists that the real hero of 2010 was Iniesta, who clinched Spain’s first-ever World Cup with an unforgettable extra-time winner.
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Speaking on the eve of Iniesta’s final El Clasico in 2018, Zidane, a football legend himself, made it clear: “He made everyone dream, and he deserved to win the Ballon d’Or, especially the year he won the World Cup.”
Although Iniesta finished second in the 2010 voting, with 17.36% of the vote, many—including Zidane—felt the accolade was unfairly denied. Yet in typical fashion, the ever-humble Iniesta dismissed any bitterness, focusing instead on the historic achievement of having three La Masia graduates—himself, Messi, and Xavi—grace the Ballon d’Or podium together.
Iniesta has never publicly expressed regret, but Zidane’s endorsement adds a fresh twist to the narrative. Could the footballing world have missed crowning the true king of 2010?
