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Home Sports No Lionel Messi, No Cristiano Ronaldo: End of an era for the Ballon d’Or

No Lionel Messi, No Cristiano Ronaldo: End of an era for the Ballon d’Or

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Ballon d'Or: At the peak of their powers, both Messi and Ronaldo represented the ethos of the two super clubs of European football: Barcelona and Real Madrid. (Reuters)Ballon d’Or: At the peak of their powers, both Messi and Ronaldo represented the ethos of the two super clubs of European football: Barcelona and Real Madrid. (Reuters)

The end of an era of unprecedented dominance by two footballers, whose endearing rivalry has captivated the sport for more than a decade, will be marked late on Monday as the Ballon d’Or award is presented to the best footballer in the world during a ceremony in Paris.

Neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo are nominated to win the prestigious award this year, after combining to win the award 13 times in the last 16 years.

Instead, this year it is Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Jr. who is the favourite to win the most prestigious individual prize in football.

At the peak of their powers, both Messi and Ronaldo represented the ethos of the two super clubs of European football: Barcelona and Real Madrid. Their performances with their countries to win international events – including Messi’s latest star turn at the 2022 FIFA World Cup often also played a role in being recognised as the best in the world.

YEAR

WINNER

TEAMS

2008

Cristiano Ronaldo

Manchester United (POR)

2009

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2010

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2011

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2012

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2013

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid (POR)

2014

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid (POR)

2015

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2016

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid (POR)

2017

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid (POR)

2018

Luka Modric

Real Madrid (CRO)

2019

Lionel Messi 

FC Barcelona (ARG)

2021

Lionel Messi 

Paris Saint Germain (ARG)

2022

Karim Benzema

Real Madrid (FRA)

2023

Lionel Messi

Inter Miami (ARG)

In that same period, Real Madrid have also dominated the award. Outside of Messi and Ronaldo, only Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) have been able to win the prize since 2008, with the award being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Both players were at Real Madrid at the time and this year’s favourite also plays in the Spanish capital.

Festive offer

Monday’s award is being handed out for the 2023-24 season, in which Madrid won both the La Liga and the Champions League, and Vinicius Jr. played a talismanic role in the triumphs. Among the others in the fray are Jude Bellingham, Vinicius’s Madrid teammate who also reached the Euros final with England, and midfielder Rodri, who was an ever-present in the Manchester City team that won the Premier League and the Spain team that won the Euros.

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