{"id":78498,"date":"2022-05-31T12:47:21","date_gmt":"2022-05-31T12:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=78498"},"modified":"2022-05-31T12:47:21","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T12:47:21","slug":"messi-tips-benzema-for-deserved-ballon-dor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=78498","title":{"rendered":"Messi tips Benzema for ‘deserved’ Ballon d’Or"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sports Desk:<\/strong> Real Madrid's France star Karim Benezema deserves to win the Ballon d'Or, according to seven-time laureate Lionel Messi.<\/p>\n

Benzema was crucial in Madrid's Champions League victory this season, culminating with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in Paris on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Although he did not score in the final, Benzema's back-to-back hat-tricks in the knock-out rounds, starting with a 17-minute treble against Messi's Paris Saint-Germain to overturn a 2-0 aggregate deficit, were crucial to generating the momentum that swept the Spaniards to the title.<\/p>\n

“There's no doubt, it's very clear that Benzema has had a spectacular year and has ended it by winning the Champions League,” Messi told Argentine channel TyC Sports.<\/p>\n

“He was crucial from the last-16 onwards in every match and I think there's no doubt” that Benzema deserves to win the Ballon d'Or.<\/p>\n

Messi was speaking a couple of days ahead of a friendly with Italy at Wembley stadium between two continental champions.<\/p>\n

The match between the South American Copa America holders and the European champions, where many Argentines trace their roots, is known as the “Finalissima”.<\/p>\n

But while Argentina stormed to qualification for the Qatar World Cup later this year with several games to spare, Italy astonishingly missed out after losing to minnows North Macedonia in a play-off.<\/p>\n

“What happened with Italy is crazy, having won the Euros and not being at the World Cup, given Italy's history at the World Cup,” he said.<\/p>\n

“If Italy had been at the World Cup they would have been one of the favorites. They were unlucky. No one would have wanted to play them.”<\/p>\n

Having spent his entire career at Barcelona, the 34-year-old moved to PSG a year ago where he has struggled to reproduce his best form.<\/p>\n

He admitted it had been “a difficult change” and that the first day he took his children to school in Paris he left “crying”.<\/p>\n

Having caught Covid-19 at the end of 2021, Messi is convinced the virus has left “scars” in his lungs while he also admitted the Champions League capitulation against Real was “a tough blow”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sports Desk: Real Madrid’s France star Karim Benezema deserves to win the Ballon d’Or, according to seven-time laureate Lionel Messi. Benzema was crucial in Madrid’s Champions League victory this season, culminating with a 1-0 win over Liverpool in Paris on Saturday. Although he did not score in the final, Benzema’s back-to-back hat-tricks in the knock-out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":78499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n