Cristiano Ronaldo of Manchester United and Lionel Messi of Paris Saint-Germain appear to have forged a decade-long fight for the record books, having won the coveted Ballon d’Or award in 11 of the previous 12 seasons.
The only time the two didn’t win the best footballer award came in 2018 when Luka Modric beat them out. After winning the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, the Croatian captain led his country to the FIFA World Cup finals, where they were defeated by eventual champions France.
With Ronaldo and Messi back in the running for the Ballon d’Or, France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferre has revealed some interesting information. Ferre stated that the Portuguese international’s primary goal today is to win more Ballon d’Ors than Messi, who has already won practically all of them.
As it stands, the Manchester United attacker has won the individual award five times, compared to the Argentine forward’s six. The Ballon d’Or will be awarded on November 29 this year.
In a conversation with the New York Times, Pascal Ferre said: “Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballon d’Or awards than Messi. I know because he has told me.” France Football’s editor-in-chief then went on to add how they keep the Ballon d’Or an interesting secret.
Ferre added: “I don’t want to lie [to those asking who the winner is]. But I tell them that I can’t share their name because the winners do not know yet, and it would not be right for them not to be the first to find out.”
Messi and Ronaldo remain two of the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or award as the debate over the trophy continues. Other football legends’ spectacular feats, on the other hand, cannot be ruled out.
Ballon d’Or 2021 Top 10 Nominees
- Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
- Lionel Messi (PSG)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Jorginho (Chelsea)
- N’golo Kante (Chelsea)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
- Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)
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