Tottenham Hotspur has every right to be angry with show of disrespect
By Gary Pearson
Tottenham’s Harry Kane, after finishing 23rd in Ballon d’Or rankings, was yet again shunned, even disrespected, by journalists claiming to acutely understand the sport.
Nobody is saying Kane should have won the 2021 edition of the Ballon d’Or, but surely his 2020-2021 campaign, highlighted by winning his third Golden Boot and topping the Premier League assists chart, was enough to finish just five spots ahead of, in top flight terms, the dreaded relegation zone.
Just goes to show the farcical nature of how the most coveted individual honour in world football is awarded. Journalists from around the globe pick their top five players and the individual with the most points is dubbed the king of football, the Ballon d’Or recipient. Though they might as well call it the Messinald’Or, as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo enjoy a monopoly, winning 12 of the last 13.
Former Spurs’ midfielder, Luka Modric, who won it in 2018, is the only player outside of Ronaldo and Messi to have won the award since 2007.
But back to more pressing, belittling matters: The humiliation of Harry.