Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said his former team mate Lionel Messi deserved his Ballon d’Or win.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward beat Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea’s Jorginho to lift the prestigious award after winning the Copa America for the first time with Argentina in July.
Many questioned the decision to hand Messi the award but Xavi described the Argentine’s record-extending seventh victory as ‘total justice’.
‘I think it’s football justice. He is the best footballer in the world, and the best of all time. And he deserves this seventh award. No doubt about it,’ Xavi said.
‘We may think that maybe Lewandowski also deserved it, or other players, but this is the same debate every year… The moment they open the envelope and they say Messi won it, then it’s fair.’
Barcelona – who are currently seventh in LaLiga with 23 points – host fifth-placed Real Betis on Saturday.
