JAKARTA The former Dutch national team player, Wesley Sneijder, assessed that Argentine star Lionel Messi was not worthy of winning the 2010 Ballon d'Or award.
Sneijder was one of several names deemed more appropriate at the time than Messi. However, La Pulga was later announced victorious.
At that time, Sneijder was considered more worthy because he succeeded in leading Inter Milan to a treble Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League winners. In addition, he also brought the Netherlands to be runners-up in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
"It's a bit unfair that I wasn't named the winner of the 2010 Ballon d'Or and Messi won it," Sneijder was quoted as saying by the Mirror.
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Apart from Sneijder, other names deemed appropriate to raise the 2010 Ballon d'Or were the Spanish national team duo, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. Both names led Spain to win the 2010 World Cup.
Sneijder said that even though he was more appropriate, he did not want to worry about the controversy. He called individual awards not something important in his career.
"I'm not the type to cry because of it. The Ballon d'Or is an individual award and what I love is to win a collective trophy," he said.
"If I have to choose between the Champions League and the Ballon d'Or, I will choose the Champions League that I won. I am very happy with that title," he added.
Messi is currently the record holder of the Ballon d'Or. He has collected a total of eight awards or three more than his rival, Cristiano Ronaldo.
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