Atletico Madrid and Brazil’s full-back Filipe Luis thinks that Barcelona legend Lionel Messi should have won the 2018 Ballon d’Or ahead of the Croatian international Luka Modric. The Real Madrid star received the award after helping Los Blancos to win the UEFA Champions League and also for helping his national side to secure their place in the FIFA World Cup final last year.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo held the second place while Antoine Griezmann of Atletico Madrid achieved the third place in the 2018 Ballon d’Or. But, it seems a surprising result for the Brazilian defender Filipe Luis as he strongly believes that Lionel Messi is the only deserving candidate of the prestigious award last year.
Recently in a candid interview with Globoesporte, the Brazilian star Filipe Luis openly praised his La Liga rival Lionel Messi and his amazing footballing talent. However, he also talked about his own duty while saying “When I get on the pitch my mission is to not let the opponents do anything, be that Messi or any other player.”
The Atletico Madrid said, “But after so many years I see a guy who continues to reinvent himself – he’s played out wide and now he plays in the middle.” He then questioned behalf of Messi, “Suddenly, I hear that he didn’t deserve to win the Ballon d’Or because he had a bad season in 2018?”
He then praised his Argentine rival and said “He won La Liga, he won the Copa del Rey, he was the top scorer in Europe and provided loads of assists,” and then further added “Whoever thinks Messi doesn’t deserve the Ballon d’Or isn’t seeing what I’m seeing. Either that or I don’t know anything about football.”
Filipe Luis said “He’s the best player at Barcelona. He scores goals and when he doesn’t do that he provides assists or starts the plays that lead to goals – and he’s done that for the last 10 years,” and added, “My rivalry with him on the pitch is infinite, but off the