Last week, Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or. Not only was it marked as a significant achievement for the player, but it was also a remarkable milestone in the award’s history. While his record win took the trophy’s place to new heights, this doesn’t give the award holders a reason to stop making it an even bigger spectacle.

In order to solidify the position of the prestigious award, Europe’s apex governing body, UEFA, partnered with the organizers, Groupe Amaury, the parent company of France Football, to co-organize the coveted award next year. While many will consider it a bumper move for both parties, one wonders if there’s actually a bad side to it. What if this collaboration between UEFA and France Football gives other prestigious awards, say FIFA ‘The Best’, the power to send the Ballon d’Or to the backseat?

Would ‘FIFA The Best’ take precedence over the Ballon d’Or following the UEFA- France Football alliance?

There are some other prestigious individual awards in competition that give a decent competition to the Ballon d’Or. Among them is the FIFA ‘The Best’ award. One cannot say that one is superior to another, as both are considered equal. Until now, when the UEFA announced its partnership with France Football. While it may sound like a good move for the Ballon d’Or, it has left the award’s fate unleashed.

There is a strong chance that the UEFA-France Football partnership will now make the Ballon d’Or a second fiddle to their competitive award, FIFA The Best. In other words, France Football’s prize may become less significant or prestigious in comparison to FIFA’s award. There are a few reasons to support this cause.

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First is the UEFA’s failure. Earlier, the apex body used to host the Player of the Year award. However, it got scraped. Additionally, forget equal, but the UEFA’s POTY wasn’t even near the FIFA’s award. Another reason is their involvement in scandals. In the past, Europe’s apex body has been involved in many scandals. One can also raise fingers at FIFA, which was also involved in a 2015 corruption scandal. But since then, the governing body has been clear, while the UEFA continues to be a part of dishonor.

Is Ballon d’Or Losing Its Value as the Most Prestigious Award?

Additionally, only European players were capable of winning the UEFA’s award, making it less significant among either the Ballon d’Or or FIFA. But prior to this, even the Ballon d’Or was restricted to just European stars, which saw many stars miss the award.

Players who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or but couldn’t

Just like UEFA’s POTY, even the Ballon d’Or was limited to European talent. This led many talents from other continents to miss out on the prestigious award. First is, of course, the Argentinian legend, the late Diego Maradona. Brazil’s great, the late Pele, is another icon not able to win the award. Additionally, other USMNT stars like Landon Donavan or Clint Dempsey also never got the chance to clinch the trophy.

While now the rules of the Ballon d’Or have been bent, the dominance stays within Europe. To top it off, UEFA has also come into play. This will certainly have an indirect effect and may ignite a mere bias in the awards. The remaining will be FIFA The Best, which will eventually go on top.

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