Pep Guardiola, the Spanish coach of Manchester City, announced his position on the Argentine Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d’Or presented by France Football magazine.
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the seventh time in his history, beating Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Bayern Munich’s top scorer.
Pep Guardiola spoke at the press conference held on the sidelines of his team Manchester City’s match against Aston Villa in the English Premier League, saying: “You cannot ask me who deserves to win the Ballon d’Or.”
“We can never say that it is unfair for Messi to win or question that. Leo was good, he made football more beautiful.”
He continued: “Leo this season and last season presents great levels, his quality is the same, winning the award will be fair given what we see from Messi, and at the level of teams and clubs, if he provides the required levels, he deserves the award.”
It is worth noting that Pep Guardiola was the first to support Lionel Messi and promoted him in 2004 to play in the first team under his leadership from 2008 to 2012 in Barcelona.