Why Lionel Messi didn’t win Golden Ball at World Cup, which instead was won by Rodri
Why Lionel Messi didn’t win Golden Ball at World Cup, which instead was won by Rodri originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Lionel Messi had a magnificent 2026 FIFA World Cup for Argentina.
For that matter, so did France’s Kylian Mbappe, who claimed the Golden Boot. But neither of them won the Golden Ball.
The award for the tournament’s best player was given to Rodri of Spain after Sunday’s final.
Spain won 1-0 over Argentina, and Rodri took home the prestigious honor.
Many would’ve made the case that it should’ve gone to Messi, but that’s not the way it worked out.
MORE: Ted Lasso and Justin Bieber showed up at halftime
Why didn’t Lionel Messi win the Golden Ball?
The voters clearly determined that they didn’t want to give the award for the tournament’s best player to someone on the losing team.
There’s no other case to be made that someone from Spain had a better tournament than Messi.
But in the end, Messi won’t go home with either the Golden Boot or the Golden Ball.
He made lots of magic in what is presumed to be his final World Cup, but he leaves the tournament with a silver medal and nothing more.
Why did Rodri win the Golden Ball?
This is a fair question, too, but Spain’s captain was determined to be worthy.
He once won the Ballon d’Or despite not being a goal-heavy player for Manchester City, and the same works out here.
Rodri influences the midfield heavily, and apparently was preferred for this honor over the talented striker Mikel Oyarzabal or someone from Spain’s record-setting defense.
If a player from the losing team wasn’t voted to win, it’s a bit tough that Rodri wins despite being subbed off when the final was 0-0.
But in the end, the voters recognized his quality and leadership as worthy of winning an award, and this is what they had to give him.
