Lionel Messi told why he doesn't deserve to win the Ballon d'Or

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf believes there is a simple reason why Lionel Messi should not win the Ballon d’Or in 2021.

Lionel Messi shouldn’t win the Ballon d’Or as he received a red card this year, according to Frank Leboeuf.

The 53-year-old referred to the two times France Football overlooked Zinedine Zidane for the coveted prize in 2000 and 2006 after receiving a red card in both years for head-butting incidents.

Messi, on the other hand, got sent off in Barcelona’s 3-2 Spanish Super Cup final defeat against Athletic Club in January for taking a swing at Asier Villalibre.

Messi sees red for an off-the-ball swing. pic.twitter.com/PAW8cm95OR

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 17, 2021

So based on this reason alone, Leboeuf doesn’t see why Messi should win a Ballon d’Or when Zidane didn’t for his red card offenses.

“In 2000 and 2006, Zidane didn’t win the Ballon d’Or because he got a red card in each year,” Lebouef said on Telefoot. “Messi got a red card in the Spanish Super Cup for punching someone, that counts. If we didn’t give it to Zizou, we shouldn’t give it to Messi.”

The Paris Saint-Germain star is the bookmakers’ favorite to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or. He won the Copa America with Argentina and impressed again for Barcelona over the course of last season.

When did Zidane get sent off?

Zidane, who won a Ballon d’Or in 1998, got sent off in a Champions League match between Juventus and Hamburg in 2000 for slamming his forehead into the face of the defender Jochen Kientz.

It was just weeks before he finished second to Luis Figo in the Ballon d’Or race.

Six years later, Zidane did it again. He head-butted Marco Materazzi in the 2006 World Cup final between France and Italy. It was his final game as a footballer.

After Italy won on penalties, Gli Azzurri captain Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or.