Sid Lowe: Ballon d'Or voting perhaps better served by using a secret ballot

They say the Ballon d'Or is democratic but it's not. Not really. A proper democratic vote surely relies on a universal, secret ballot. By contrast, one of the things that makes the Ballon d'Or vote so interesting to pick over is the fact that you can pick over it. The real fun comes after Messi and Xavi have stepped down from the podium and the list of voters and votes is handed out. Captains and coaches of the world's national teams vote, alongside a selection of journalists from across the planet. They chose their top three and just like the former FIFA award that proceeded it -- now merged with the more traditional France Football Ballon d'Or (chosen solely by journalists) - the vote is public. You know exactly who everyone voted for. What you don't know is why. And the why matters -- or seems to.