🚨 Zlatan Ibrahimović on Lionel Messi not winning the World Cup Golden Ball:
🗣️: “What else did Messi have to do to win it? I genuinely don’t understand the criteria anymore. If you look back at 2018, Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball without winning the World Cup. So what changed now?
“Messi carried Argentina throughout the tournament, delivered when it mattered most, and was once again the player everyone feared. If that wasn’t enough, then tell me what is.
“It feels like the standards are always different when it comes to Messi. Every other player gets judged one way, but with him, people suddenly move the goalposts. It’s always against Messi.
“I’m happy for Rodri, but from a football perspective, I don’t think anyone had a stronger case than Messi.”
🚨 “Absolute Nonsense — Everyone Knows Who the Best Was” — Jürgen Klopp on Golden Ball Debate
🎙️ Jürgen Klopp🗣️“I have to say, this is absolute nonsense. From the very start of the tournament, everyone knew who the top man was. It’s been the biggest talking point all through the World Cup.”
“I honestly don’t understand what Rodri did to deserve the Golden Ball ahead of Lionel Messi.”
“You’re talking about a 39-year-old player scoring 8 goals and giving 4 assists in a World Cup — outscoring players who are in their prime. That’s not normal, that’s special.”
“The only player who scored more was Kylian Mbappé, and we all know what level he is at.”
“But Messi — he was there in every important moment. Winning games, being decisive, man of the match performances, carrying his country all the way to another final.”
“And then you tell me he is not the best player of the tournament? For me, that is totally unfair.”
“Sometimes football gives you decisions you just cannot explain… and this is one of them.”