Topics: La Liga, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Cristiano Ronaldo
The Blaugrana left-back has called the Ballon d'Or a "lie".

Spain and Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba has lashed out at organizers of the Ballon d'Or after both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi failed to win the award earlier this month. This year's edition saw Real Madrid's Luka Modric winning the coveted accolade with Ronaldo only managing a runners-up finish while Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe occupied the third and fourth place respectively. 

Despite being instrumental in Barcelona's domestic double win last season, Lionel Messi could only secure a fifth-place finish. On Saturday, the 31-year-old Blaugrana skipper continued his stellar start to the season by scoring twice via free-kicks in his side's 4-0 victory in the Catalan derby.

Speaking on the Argentine striker's performance in the night's encounter, Jordi Alba could not hide his unsatisfaction with the outcome of this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony.

"The Ballon d'Or is a lie, there are many clubs and press campaigns [surrounding it]," the left-back declared as per Goal.

"Everyone knows that Messi is the best player in the world by far. If Cristiano was still at Real Madrid he'd get the Ballon d'Or. There were many fans and journalists who wanted Cristiano to get the Ballon d'Or when he was in Real Madrid."

An impressive start to the season has seen Lionel Messi scoring 17 goals and registering nine assists to aid Barcelona to occupy the top spot in La Liga as well as secure progression into the Champions League knockout phase. Relatively, Cristiano Ronaldo has excelled for Juventus following his move from Real Madrid in the summer.

The Portuguese forward has managed 11 goals and six assists in 18 games across all competitions for the Bianconeri.