I reveal that I have always hoped to compete for the Ballon d’Or over the years. It was always a topic of conversation in the dressing room in the teams I played for.
When the award date started approaching and journalists began speculating about the names, many players allowed themselves to dream. I remember several teammates who hoped to win the Ballon d’Or: Francesco Totti at Roma, Zlatan Ibrahimović at Inter. And also Wesley Sneijder in 2010, who seemed very close to winning it.
We defenders are at a disadvantage because people only get excited about goals. There have been defenders with outstanding careers like Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta who deserved a chance. Also John Terry and Rio Ferdinand.