From the 30 players nominated for the illustrious Ballon d’Or award, Manchester City talisman Rodri reigned supreme, though he was a fairly surprising victor, having triumphed over the heavily favoured Vinicius Junior – with Real Madrid consequently kicking up an almighty fuss.
But when it comes to the highest individual honour in world football, the final order in which nominees rank can sometimes mean everything to some players, as it is a subjective indication of how well they have performed in competition over the last year, and this was the case for Lautaro Martinez.
Despite finishing seventh overall, the Inter Milan striker expressed his disappointment not to finish in the top five, something which he feels is ‘unfair.’
Martinez Unhappy With Seventh Place
The Inter forward said he ‘expected more’
In the Nerazzurri’s first match following the announcement of the Ballon d’Or winner, Martinez made history when his goal in a 3-0 victory over Empoli saw him become the most prolific foreign scorer in club history, though the comments he made to DAZN (via Football Italia) over his Ballon d’Or top-five snub somewhat overshadowed his most recent personal achievement. He said:
“Surely, it’s possible to improve. Honestly, I expected more, but I work for Inter and the Argentina national team.
“These awards are unfair sometimes, but I am happy with the work I am doing. I am getting back in shape. As you know, I started the pre-season later after a long campaign. I didn’t rest much and played a lot, so it’s normal to be tired. But we all try to do our best, and we must continue because the season is still long.
Rodri became the first-ever defensive midfielder to be named the recipient of the Ballon d’Or, defeating highly-touted favourite Vinicius Jr. Real Madrid personnel, including third-placed Jude Bellingham, and fourth-placed Dani Carvajal opted to boycott the gala entirely as a result of the snubbing.
Elsewhere in the top six rankings, both Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe – the latter also now with the Spanish juggernauts – also finished ahead of the Argentinian striker.
While an argument could be made that the top four players deserved their positions, with Rodri helping lead a relatively young and inexperienced Spanish side to Euro 2024 glory, and the Los Blancos trio winning both La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, with Bellingham and Carvajal each also having an integral role to play in both England and Spain reaching the European final, perhaps Martinez feels he deserved to be ahead of Haaland and Mbappe due to achieving both domestic and international success with his country.
Martinez Had Success With Both Club and Country
Won both the Serie A and Copa America Golden Boot last season
Over the last two seasons, Martinez has enjoyed a plethora of both club and international success, having been a part of a loaded Argentina side which won the World Cup in 2022, and followed that up last season by winning the Copa America for the second successive time.
But for the 27-year-old, it was his individual play which helped both club and country, with him being the top goalscorer in both the Copa America (five goals) and in the 2023/24 Serie A season, in which his 24 goals – far surpassing his 17.64 expected goals – helped Inter win the title for the first time since the 2020/21 campaign, along with the Italian Super Cup.
Thus, his stellar goalscoring form, where he averaged a goal every 111 minutes, saw him named as the recipient of Inter’s Player of the Year award for the very first time in his six seasons with the Italian giants.
To kick off the 2024/25 campaign, Martinez has continued his goalscoring form, having already notched four goals, along with two assists, in his nine league outings, while he is also averaging 1.6 key passes and one big chance created per contest.
As a result of the snub he felt he received in the Ballon d’Or rankings, this may fuel the Argentine forward as the season progresses, and with Inter four points behind league leaders Napoli after 10 games, this fired-up version of their striker may be exactly what the club needs to cut the deficit, and finish the season on top.
Related
Danilo Díaz makes the point that Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham were left out of his top 3 due to poor international tournaments. A fair reason?Danilo Díaz (Chile Ballon d’Or voter): “I left Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham out from my top 3 because they had very bad international tournaments. Vinicius lost 17 balls against Costa Rica.”