On Monday, the Ballon d'Or award was given to Lionel Messi for a record sixth time, making him the only player in history to achieve such feat in the game. Lots of media buzz have followed that award night. From Van Dijk's presumed derogatory statement toward's the Portuguese talisman Christiano Ronaldo to whether Liverpool's Sadio Mane deserved to be on the top 3 instead of top 4. However, the controversy surrounding Ronaldo's absence during the Award Ceremony which took place in Paris seems to be the one I'm concerned about. Ronaldo who was a top Nominee for the Award Of Ballon d'Or was no where to be found and lots have been said by both Sports analysts and fans as they continue to pour in their reactions towards Ronaldo's decision not to be at the Monday Ballon d'Or night. Well, many have rushed to brand the five time Ballon d'Or winner as being proud and bereft of Spirit of Sportsmanship. While many may have said that out of sentiment, maybe as Messi fans(I'm a Messi fan anyway) or Ronaldo's detractors, others may have merely criticised the Portuguese decision not to be present at the award night as a lack of respect to his colleagues and the football Body that organises the event simply because he was aware he would not win the award.


As a Barcelona supporter and most importantly, Messi's fan, I was initially in that bandwagon. However, after finding out a bit more about all that transpired on Monday night(including the Award night that was held in Milan, Italy), where the Portuguese bagged an award as Seria A best player of the Season, an accorlade the Portugal captain is winning in his first adventure in Seria A. I'm tempted to ask myself, if I was Ronaldo, will I have been in Milan where I was to receive an award, or be at Paris where I already knew I was not the man of the night? I think I will be at the Former, where I will receive an award. Yeah, I'm a Messi fan, but I choose to pitch my tent with Ronaldo's decision not to be at Paris on Monday, just to watch his rival go ahead of him while his own award at Milan goes without the warmth of his arms. Ronaldo had netted a whooping 26 goals for the Bianconeri in his first season, 21 of those goals coming from the league after 31 league appearances. Despite being in form for Portugal, recent times have seen the talisman struggle to meet up with expectations this season, scoring just six goals in eleven appearances or thereabout so far. In summary, I think Ronaldo's absence during the Ballon d'Or award which took place in Paris on Monday is reasonably Justified and I wish not to see his action as an act bereft of Sportsmanship as the Media brands it.