Toni Kroos Reiterates Irrelevance Of Ballon D'or Award

The Ballon D'or is highly regarded as the most prestigious individual honour in world football.

In his time at Real Madrid, Kroos has seen teammates Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema claim the Ballon D'or award.

The former Germany international has had several nominations in the past but despite winning the FIFA World Cup in 2014, the UEFA Champions League five times and several domestic honours in Spain and his homeland, Kroos has never won the award himself.

The 33-year-old has opined that in a team sport, individual honours are not really important.

He said on his podcast: “My opinion is that individual awards are unnecessary in a team sport. I’ve always said that I stand by that. No single player would have won anything on their own.

“It is prestigious, but not important. That’s a big difference. My idea is simply that I don’t find it important, or not as important as other players. No single player would have won anything on their own.”

This year's Ballon D'or will be handed out on October 30, with Argentina captain Lionel Messi favourite to triumph for the eighth time.