Former player Zinedine Zidane has expressed his opinion on the player he thinks deserved to win the 2010 Ballon d’Or, a title that went to Lionel Messi.

In 1998, Zidane won the Ballon d’Or after leading France to the World Cup. Ronaldo was similarly honored in 2002, while Cannavaro received the award in 2006 after leading Italy to the title. However, the tradition of awarding the Ballon d’Or to the winner of the World Cup was broken in 2010, when Messi was awarded the award despite Spain winning the trophy.

At that time, the Spanish national team had many stars from Barcelona, ​​notably Andres Iniesta, who scored the decisive goal in extra time to help La Roja defeat the Netherlands in the final. According to Zidane, Iniesta was the name that deserved to be honored with the Golden Ball that year.

During a press conference in 2018 when he was still the head coach of Real Madrid, Zidane did not hesitate to express his admiration for Iniesta and regret that this talented midfielder had never once touched the most prestigious individual title in the world.

Specifically, Zizou said: “I really admire Iniesta’s style of play. He never won the Ballon d’Or, but he should have had one. Especially the year he won the World Cup, an excellent year with the decisive goal in the final. He clearly deserved it.”

That year, Barcelona won La Liga but failed to advance far in the Champions League. Messi was top scorer in both competitions and eventually won the Ballon d’Or for the fifth year in a row, despite Argentina being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Meanwhile, Iniesta finished second in the vote, while Xavi finished third.

In 2018, when Iniesta announced his retirement from international football, Pascal Ferre, editor-in-chief of France Football, the magazine that organizes the Ballon d’Or award, publicly apologized to the Spanish midfielder.

In an emotional editorial, Ferre revealed: “Sorry, Andres. For us, you were not just a player, but a true ‘player’. Your silent sacrifices for the team have cost you the chance to receive the recognition you deserve on an individual level. Of all the names that have never won the Ballon d’Or, your absence is the one that haunts us the most. You are the greatest connector in the history of football.”

Andres Iniesta officially debuted for Barcelona’s first team in 2002 and quickly became a mainstay for 16 years at Camp Nou. With his refined playing style, superb technique and excellent tactical vision, he played an important role in helping the Catalan team win nine La Ligas, four Champions Leagues and many other major and minor titles.

At the national team level, Iniesta is a symbol of the golden age of Spanish football, contributing greatly to the Euro 2008 and 2012 championships and especially the 2010 World Cup with the decisive goal in the final match.

Leaving Barcelona in 2018, Andres Iniesta chose to continue his career in Asia when he joined Japanese club Vissel Kobe. Here, he maintained a stable performance and left a clear mark when contributing to the team winning the Emperor’s Cup in 2019 and the Japanese Super Cup in 2020. After a successful time in the land of cherry blossoms, Iniesta said goodbye to Vissel Kobe in 2023, before joining Emirates Club in the UAE, where he ended his illustrious professional career.