Lionel Messi’s 2012 has gone down as one of the greatest individual years in football history.
The Argentinian set a record for goals in a single calendar year with a total of 91, surpassing the 85 that Germany legend Gerd Muller scored in 1972.
Messi scored 79 goals for Barcelona and 12 for his national team.
That record is likely to stand for a considerable length of time.
With such an incredible return, it was hardly a surprise when Messi won the 2012 Ballon d’Or.
He finished ahead of Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Andres Iniesta for the award after claiming 41.6% of the votes.
However, a video has emerged on Twitter which seeks to show that Ronaldo was “robbed” of the award.
‘Ronaldo was robbed'
Posted by Ronaldo fan @ronaldocomps, the two-part video begins with Jose Mourinho explaining why it’s easier for Messi to thrive than the Portuguese forward.
“It’s harder to be Cristiano than Messi,” Mourinho says.
“One [Messi] plays as a [number] nine and roams around in those 50 square metres where the distance to goal is smaller and defenceless intense.”
“The other [Ronaldo] plays as a winger. How does a winger score as many goals as a No 9?”
The video then shows Messi scoring after finding himself in advantageous positions close to the goal.
It then shows how Ronaldo had to do it by playing out wide.
This is why you always should look at the context. Cristiano Ronaldo robbed of Ballon D'Or 2012. [PART 1] pic.twitter.com/Ol4unb9ZSj
— Diego • Fan (@ronaldocomps) August 26, 2019
Ronaldo robbed of Ballon D'Or 2012. [PART 2] pic.twitter.com/N8GJTmS1Fu
— Diego • Fan (@ronaldocomps) August 26, 2019
Ronaldo's return in 2012 was phenomenal, too. He scored 63 goals for club and country in the calendar year, with 58 coming for Real Madrid.
He also helped Los Blancos win La Liga with 100 points.
Has your mind changed?
Interestingly enough, many believe Iniesta deserved to win the 2012 award.
The playmaker was the driving force behind Spain’s success at Euro 2012 and even had Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s backing.
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“I voted for Iniesta to win it because he won the European Championship and he made a big jump for Barcelona,” Ibrahimovic revealed before the award was announced, per talkSPORT.
This article was most recently revised and updated 5 years ago