2010 proved to be one of the most controversial periods for the Ballon d’Or. The year saw a high-intensity battle between top clubs, and it was also the FIFA World Cup year. However, to everyone’s surprise, despite bowing out of the World Cup in the quarterfinals, Lionel Messi snatched the Ballon d’Or against the odds, baffling some experts. However, in a spectacular revelation recently, Messi’s former archrival’s manager, Jose Mourinho, felt that the award was not a surprise.

He backed the Argentine over his former player, Wesley Sneijder, who won the UEFA Champions League and helped his team reach the World Cup final in the same year. Mourinho himself had a great season, winning the FIFA Best Coach of 2010. His team, despite scoring 96 points, lost out to FC Barcelona in La Liga. But that did not stop Mourinho from expressing his opinion in favor of the 8x Ballon d’Or winner.

Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Vibe with Five podcast, he said, “I don’t like to say it robbed. Who won it? Messi? So, not robbed. But Wesley did the treble, the Champions League winner, I think the World Cup final in the same season.” Anyhow Jose Mourinho, keeping in mind what the Dutch star has achieved, felt that he deserved better.

He continued, “So Wesley should be there at least in the TOP 3, but when in the last generation, when Cristiano, Messi, they win the Ballon d’Or, it’s never robbed”, which was not what Sneijder opined earlier.

With this Lionel Messi comment, Mourinho contradicts Sneijder’s claim of an unfair Ballon d’Or

Sneijder expressed his views a few months ago, saying, “It was a little unfair that I didn’t win the 2010 Ballon d’Or and Messi did.” Moreover, Sneijder was not even part of the Ballon d’Or top three, which Jose Mourinho felt he deserved. The talisman won the Serie A and the Italian Cup in addition to the UCL that year.

Although he scored eight goals and 15 assists for Inter Milan the entire season, his contribution in Netherlands’ World Cup campaign was impeccable. His brace against 5x champions Brazil in the quarterfinals was one of the most iconic performances of the tournament, helping them reach the semifinals despite being a goal down. However, the star won just the Silver Ball losing the Golden Ball to Uruguay’s Diego Forlan.

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Meanwhile, Lionel Messi only had a La Liga title to his name, but he scored 47 goals. However, the Inter Miami captain had a subpar spell in South Africa, contributing just one assist in five games. Nevertheless, Jose Mourinho felt that none of the Ballon d’Ors that went to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi were ever robbed because of the quality they possessed. The two players later ran a riot, winning seven more without the third player’s interference.

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