You can tell we are living in a golden age of sport from the agony of the arguments.
First there was the issue of who should get the BBC award in Olympic year — any or all, as far as I was concerned — and now comes the Ballon d’Or, which goes to Lionel Messi for a record fourth time despite the candidature of Cristiano Ronaldo, not to mention Andres Iniesta.
Any of the trio would have been a more than worthy winner. Along with Xavi and Gerard Pique, fellow members of the team of 2012 chosen by a FIFA-invited panel, they would walk into my initial squad of the greatest of all time.
So what sets Messi apart? It is a ridiculous question. You can either see it or you can’t. He transcends the physical and elevates football into an art and — as if to enhance his gift to humanity in an age of exhibitionism — smiles with a satisfaction that is self-effacing.
That Ronaldo won more — La Liga, principally — is relevant but hardly overriding. If trophies were the measure of a footballer, the career of Alan Shearer would have meant something only in 1994-95, Gary Lineker would have been the nobody who spoiled Everton’s chances of a hat-trick of titles in the mid-1980s and Steven Gerrard’s contribution to English football would be a non-starter next to Frank Lampard’s rather than neck-and-neck with it.
Ronaldo deserved the award for what he did for Real Madrid. He is a magnificent professional who has brought new techniques to the game and, even if his feet failed, would probably be worth a place in most teams for his heading.
Iniesta deserved it, too, in a year when he did much to make Spain champions of Europe again. But there could be only one winner.
