Euro Leagues: Why the Ballon d’Or matters so much

Steve Crossman is joined by Guillem Balague, Julien Laurens and Kristof Terreur as they discuss this year’s Ballon d’Or. The team ask why the reception to Lionel Messi’s seventh win appeared to be a little lukewarm, debate whether the award is still relevant and discuss who would have won if Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had not dominated so much over the last decade. They also explain what has changed for in-form Real Madrid forward Vinícius Jr as he continues to enjoy a successful season. And on the back of Viking defender David Brekalo seeing red after pushing over his own goalkeeper in a league match in Norway, the team discuss destructive on-field behaviour. Oh, and they end with a quiz, testing the team’s Ballon d’Or knowledge. Results are patchy. Topics: 6 mins – Why Messi won the Ballon d’Or. 21 mins – Does Eden Hazard have a future at Real Madrid? 24 mins – Who would have won over the last decade if Messi and Ronaldo had not dominated. 29 mins – The transformation of Vinícius Jr 37 mins – Bonkers on-field behaviour. 40 mins – End of pod Ballon d’Or quiz.