Burundi snubs Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has won the Fifa Ballon d'Or (top footballer of the year) with nearly 50% of the vote. But, unlike most democratic institutions, the voting for the Fifa Ballon d'Or is not a secret ballot initiative. Messi being crowned was not a surprise. Neither were the second and third place finishers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Xavi, respectively. But, because of the lack of a secret vote, seeing who voted for who can make for some interesting reading.

Guy George, the captain of the Saint Lucia national team voted Lionel Messi as the number 1. He left number 2 and number 3 blank leaving us to assume that he did not care about anyone else. Subsequently, Guy George was left off of Cristiano Ronaldo's birthday party invite because of the snub.

Burundi however was the odd man out. Voters from Burundi did not include Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Xavi in their votes, instead opting for Karim Benzema as the world's greatest footballer. Since Burundi has neither strong ties to Benzema, France, Spain or Messi's Argentina the vote was somewhat of a surprise. Burundi was a former colony of Germany. After World War I it passed to the control of Belgium. While Burundi speaks French as a main language this seems to be the only ties to Benzema that the nation has. The only explanation is that Legos are outlawed in Burundi and since everyone knows Messi's obsession with legos, this can be the only possible explanation for Burundi's snub.