This archive report was first published on 3 December 2019.
December 3, 2019
Former Senegal forward El-Hadji Diouf has offered a nuanced view on the Ballon d'Or voting, which saw Lionel Messi crowned the winner.
Diouf, who played for Liverpool and Senegal, acknowledged that African players face a disadvantage in the voting process due to the influence of media and decision-makers outside the continent.
"Being an African footballer is of course a handicap, as the main decision-makers and influential media are not from the continent. But Messi deserves it by far. Sadio had an exceptional year but Messi, he is stratospheric," Diouf said.
Diouf's comments come as many fans in Senegal and other parts of Africa reacted with indignation to Messi's win, with some accusing racial prejudice and others blaming African voters.
However, Diouf's view is not shared by all. Aboubacry Ba, a former football journalist for Canal+ Africa, blamed a lack of solidarity among African journalists on the voting panel for Messi's win.
"There is nothing racist, but if African votes went to the continent's stars, things would be different", Ba said.
