Dani Alves believes former Tottenham star Christian Eriksen should have been given this year's Ballon d'Or award instead of Lionel Messi.
Messi secured his seventh 'Golden Ball' trophy on Monday night after inspiring Argentina to the Copa America title over the summer.
The decision to hand the Paris Saint-Germain star the Ballon d'Or has been met with its fair share of criticism, with Robert Lewandowski coming in second place despite a breathtaking year.
However, Alves - who is very close friends with former Barcelona team-mate Messi - has thrown a surprise name into the hat in Eriksen, who has suffered plenty this year.
The Dane suffered a cardiac arrest in the Euros while representing Denmark. Fortunately, Eriksen is now in a stable condition, but it is unclear whether he will ever play football at a competitive level again.
Alves thinks that because of what happened to Eriksen, that the former Tottenham playmaker should have won the Ballon d'Or.
He said after the awards: "I think that Messi is a big candidate for the Ballon d'Or. He has (registered) all the figures to make it another time.
"But, to be honest, this year for me all the individual awards should have been handed to Eriksen because we have to send a message to the world that life is more important than football.
"And when one person comes back as he did, after all the things we've been through with COVID-19 that is ongoing and all this issue.
"I think that we can send a message to everyone that there are things which are more important than sport."
It was confirmed in October that Eriksen would not be allowed to play in Italy this season following his collapse in the summer, with his parent club Inter Milan releasing a statement.
It read: "With reference to the registration rights of the player Eriksen, it should be noted that following a serious injury which occurred during the European Championship in June 2021, the player has been temporarily inhibited by the Italian medical authority from sporting activity in the current season."
Eriksen could continue to play football in a different country, though, as the Italian champions added to the official statement.
"Although the current conditions of the player don't meet the requirements of achieving sporting fitness in Italy, the same could instead be achieved in other countries where the player could resume competitive activity," the Serie A club went on to say.
