Carlo Ancelotti Slams Sepp Blatter over Cristiano Ronaldo Ballon d'Or Snub

Latest Update from Thursday, Oct. 30

Carlo Ancelotti has clarified comments made in relation to Sepp Blatter, whom he criticised when told that the FIFA president had said Manuel Neuer—not Cristiano Ronaldo—deserves the Ballon d'Or.

However, Blatter's comments were in relation to the World Cup Golden Ball award, which he felt should have gone to Neuer rather than Lionel Messi, so Ancelotti retracted his statement, per Madrid's official website:

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I need to redress what I said. The question I was asked this morning wasn't very clear. He didn't ask for Neuer to win the Ballon d'Or, instead he was referring to the World Cup Golden Ball, which I agree with him about. As such, I would like to redress what I said this morning.

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Original Article from Wednesday, Oct. 29

Carlo Ancelotti has bitterly criticised FIFA chairman Sepp Blatter for failing to back star forward Cristiano Ronaldo for the 2014 Ballon d'Or. Ancelotti has lamented Blatter's choice to proclaim Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as more deserving of the title.

The two headline a 23-player list featuring some familiar candidates, per FIFA.com:

However, in his press conference before Real's first leg against Cornella in the Copa del Rey, Ancelotti ridiculed Blatter's decision to ignore Ronaldo's phenomenal achievements this calendar year:

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It always surprises me what he does, but what can we do. It’s impossible to shut the mouth of the FIFA president. It is a subject that he always speaks about. There is not much to think about. It is Cristiano’s year, he has been scoring goals and winning important titles, and there is no doubt that the Ballon d’Or is his. Therefore those words do not make much sense.

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It's difficult to argue with Ancelotti's viewpoint. After all, Ronaldo has been in astonishing form in 2014. He has started this season by scoring an amazing 21 goals in all competitions, per ESPN FC.

Before his most recent efforts, Ronaldo ended the 2013/14 campaign by scoring in Real's 4-1 UEFA Champions League final win over city rivals Atletico Madrid. That win earned Los Blancos La Decima, the coveted 10th European Cup victory.

Ronaldo was a vital part of that winning run. He scored a scarcely believable 17 goals in last season's tournament, per WhoScored.com.

It's that kind of form that has team-mates such as James Rodriguez declaring Ronaldo the world's best player. The Colombian ace said as much during a recent interview with Jose Ramon de la Morena of Cadena SER (via AS): "Cristiano, obviously. He is a goal-scoring machine and he is a star, but what stands out the most is that he is a great person."

To many, including BBC Sport pundit, Gary Lineker, it should be the easiest decision in the world to give Ronaldo the award for a second-year running:

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“@FIFAcom: @GaryLineker Morning Gary, have you seen the #BallondOr list? Who do you think will get the award?” < Only one winner: Ronaldo!

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) October 28, 2014"

Given his recent achievements, it seems almost cruel for FIFA's president to overlook Ronaldo in favour of Neuer. However, that's not to say the outstanding goalkeeper hasn't enjoyed a great year of his own.

His highlights include capturing yet another Bundesliga title with Bayern, but Neuer's best achievement, and the one most likely to win him the award, was helping Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Capturing the sport's global prize is good enough to overshadow most achievements, even the amazing scoring tally Ronaldo has posted.

That's a view endorsed by UEFA president Michel Platini during a recent interview with BeIN Sports (h/t AS):

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The Ballon d'Or tends to go to a player who has performed exceptionally well at the World Cup, someone who won it, so this year it should be for a Germany player. It was always that way until 2010 when Leo Messi won despite having a fairly average World Cup, so nothing is for certain.

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The belief that Blatter is backing Neuer appears to stem from comments he made about Lionel Messi winning the Golden Ball award at the World Cup.

Blatter made those comments while in Moscow for the unveiling of the logo for the 2018 World Cup, per Goal.com reporter Miles Chambers:

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Blatter, who has said in the past that he thought Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had earned the accolade, slammed the award process only a few hours after Messi was named among the 23-man shortlist for the Fifa Ballon d'Or.

'I think the decision to give Messi the Golden Ball was incorrect.

I was surprised when I received the committee’s decision. They told me they had only looked at 10 of the players who took part in the final.'

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ESPNFC.com writer Dermot Corrigan believes these words have been interpreted as a cogent backing for Neuer: "This has been taken by some as Blatter suggesting that Neuer now deserves to win the 2014 Ballon D'Or award, which FIFA also co-organises, and which current holder Ronaldo is hot favourite to retain this year."

If Blatter is actually positing a subliminal vote for Bayern's ace stopper, he's certainly not alone in believing Neuer merits the award. Former Dynamo Kiev, AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Schevchenko a Ballon d'Or winner in 2004, recently endorsed Neuer during BT Sport's European Football Show:

Eurosport writer Rafal Sak believes Neuer is making a greater impact on the game because he's changing his position:

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We have two candidates to win the trophy this year. Cristiano Ronaldo broke new scoring records in the club competitions and led Real Madrid to a well-deserved victory in the Champions League. His extraordinary, and most importantly stable form was the base on which La Decima was founded. On the other hand, Manuel Neuer has set new trends and redefined the role of the keeper in modern football. He won the world championship, championship and cup in Germany; he played with Bayern in the Champions League semi-final (he won the 2013 Champions League). The World Cup is every four years and rarely does a defensive player stand out so clearly. Therefore Neuer!

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Sak has a point, but it could be argued Ronaldo has been just as influential. He has redefined the classic striker role, turning a roving, wide forward into an attacking focal point. In doing so, Ronaldo has turned the traditional No. 9 into a supporting, functionary player.

Thierry Henry began this trend years ago with Arsenal, as a central striker who actually did most of his damage from the left flank. Neither winger, nor true striker, Ronaldo did the same from the right side for Manchester United, before moving to the left with Los Merengues.

He has assumed the mantle left by Henry and raised the bar even higher. Although Neuer's performances and talent cannot be questioned, Ronaldo's epic scoring run deserves its own reward.