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Filipe Luís: 'Whoever Thinks Messi Doesn't Deserve The Ballon d'Or Isn't Seeing What I'm Seeing'

Filipe Luís: 'Whoever Thinks Messi Doesn't Deserve The Ballon d'Or Isn't Seeing What I'm Seeing'

Atlético Madrid star Filipe Luís is 100 per cent behind Lionel Messi, especially after his fifth-place finish for the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Filipe Luís has come forward with strong words of endorsement for Lionel Messi after he was snubbed for the 2018 Ballon d'Or.

Real Madrid's Luka Modrić took home France Football's coveted prize in December, while the 31-year-old Barcelona captain finished in fifth place behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé.

The Atlético Madrid star made a strong claim when he spoke about Messi and the Ballon d'Or.

"When I get on the pitch my mission is to not let the opponents do anything, be that Messi or any other player," he told Globo Esporte.

"But after so many years I see a guy who continues to reinvent himself -- he's played out wide and now he plays in the middle.

"Suddenly, I hear that he didn't deserve to win the Ballon d'Or because he had a bad season in 2018?

PA

"He won La Liga, he won the Copa del Rey, he was the top scorer in Europe and provided loads of assists.

"Whoever thinks Messi doesn't deserve the Ballon d'Or isn't seeing what I'm seeing. Either that or I don't know anything about football."

Messi has continued to maintain his form for Barcelona this season. Last weekend, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner came off the bench and inspired his side to a 3-1 victory over Leganés.

Barça remains at the top of La Liga after 20 matches, holding a five-point lead over second-place Atlético and ten points clear of third-place Real Madrid.




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Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Lionel Messi, Leganes, Ballon d'Or, Real Madrid, Luka Modric

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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