Lionel Messi's father Jorge takes a sly dig at critics, who are saying PSG star didn't deserve Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi's father Jorge slammed critics, who are claiming that the 34-year-old footballer didn't deserve to win this year's men's Ballon d'Or award. Among others, Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo also commented "facts" on a post that detailed why he deserved the award over Messi. 

Messi won the prestigious award for a record-extending seventh time at a ceremony in Paris on Monday (November 29). Messi won the last edition of the Ballon d'Or in 2019 before last year's awards were cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. He also won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015. On the other hand, Ronaldo finished sixth in this year's voting and has earned the Ballon d'Or five times. 

After the ceremony, a group of critics said that the Paris Saint-Germain star was apparently not the right choice. He pipped Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski, who finished second and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who was third in the voting by a jury of journalists from around the world. Not just Ronaldo, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp, Toni Kroos and Iker Casillas were surprised by Messi's triumph. 

Jorge uploaded a picture of Messi holding his seventh Golden Ball alongside the caption: "Bla bla bla... carry on." 

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This year, Messi scored 38 goals in 48 games last season for Barcelona and won the Copa del Rey before captaining Argentina to Copa America glory in July.

That was the first major international title of his glittering career, which had been spent entirely with Barcelona before his tearful departure from the Camp Nou in August and subsequent move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi has played just 11 games for PSG so far, scoring four goals, but he was rewarded as much as anything for his continued brilliance down the years.