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On The Ball
Ballon d’Or list signals end of the Messi-Ronaldo era
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The announcement this week of 30 nominees saw both Lionel Messi (right) and Cristiano Ronaldo omitted from the men’s category for the first time since 2003.
PHOTOS: REUTERS
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Plenty dismiss the Ballon d’Or, arguing that individual awards have no place in a team sport, a puritanical view when it is often individual flair that engages most. Players like Pele, Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona not being acknowledged for their brilliance would be churlish.
Another reason for Ballon d’Or fatigue is that the award, and its Fifa equivalent, The Best, have been dominated by two figures for the last two decades.
