Philipp Lahm Comments on Lionel Messi and Legitimacy of Ballon d'Or

Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm hailed Lionel Messi for a "deserved" Ballon d'Or win but has called for a change in the format of the prestigious award. 

Messi claimed his fifth Ballon d'Or on Monday, beating Barcelona team-mate Neymar and Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo by some distance in the voting, per BBC Sport:

However, in his column for Goal.com, Lahm criticised the award as being for only the "most visible" players and insisted it has become "a vote for the world's best striker."

Lahm makes a valid point, noting Fabio Cannavaro is the only "true defender" to win the award in recent memory, and he suggested a potential change to the format to recognise the contributions of those who play in less glamorous positions:

"

Only the players who score goals can be crowned the best footballer of the year...But football is much more than the moment of triumph [when the ball hits the net]. Football is teamwork, unity, defence, assists, sacrifice.

I believe that when Fifa hands out an award, it should not be a marketing prize that solely honours the protagonists of a media-crazy sport. Maybe there shouldn't be an individual award in a team sport but (in addition to the world XI) four single awards for best goalkeeper, best defender, best midfielder and best striker instead.

"

The former Germany international is far from the only critic of the Ballon d'Or, with many deriding the insistence on individual praise in a team game, per Bleacher Report's Daniel Tiluk.

Indeed, while it is tricky to argue with Messi winning this year's award, it surely pales in comparison to the five trophies the Argentinian won with Barca in 2015:

The 28-year-old did not win those trophies by himself, and Lahm's assertion that the Ballon d'Or fails to recognise much else other than prolific goalscoring is undeniably a valid claim.

The 32-year-old defender did not shy away from sending his congratulations to Messi, though, saying he was the "deserved winner for the award of the world's best striker," per Goal.

Messi is undoubtedly one of the best attacking players to ever play football, and his quintet of Ballons d'Or are recognition of his immensely consistent contribution to Barca's goalscoring and creativity over the years.

However, it is undeniable that some of the best defensive players do not even get a look in when it comes to Ballon d'Or nominations. Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin scandalously did not even make the FIFA/FIFPro World XI, per Bleacher Report's Dean Jones and Sam Tighe:

Lahm's suggested alternatives could help to redress that imbalance and allow for further recognition across all positions rather than just forwards.