By David Yagudayev, Science and Technology Editor
The Ballon d’Or, an award given by the magazine France Football to the world’s best football player, stands as the sport’s most prestigious award an individual can receive. Since the inception of this award in 1956, some of the greatest players of all time have been given this Ballon d’Or. In 1995, non-European players subsequently became eligible, making it the most difficult international individual honor to win.
Out of the dozens of players nominated for the award every year, only one can claim the “unofficial title” of best player of the year. Before 2007, it was quite rare for the same player to win the Ballon d’or multiple times. Historically, great and famous players such as Ronaldo Nazário, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldinho only won the award once.
However, when Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo entered the game, everything changed.
These two talents dominated football, shattering records and pushing the standard way above what was thought to be possible, so much so that between 2008-2017, the two alternated places for the award. Despite many players being nominated during this period, everyone knew that the real “competition” was between Messi and Ronaldo. Asked about their relationship in 2019 at the Champions League draw for the group stages, Ronaldo said: “We’ve shared the same stage, him and I, for fifteen years. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before in football history, it’s not easy.”
This decade of dominance was unseen in football and most likely will not be repeated in a very long time. Their rivalry was so fierce that during this decade, there was an ongoing debate about who was the greatest football player of all time. As a young kid, watching the professionalism between these two players on and off the pitch despite all the tension was incredible.
Ronaldo has an impressive five Ballon d’Ors to his name, winning them in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. He won his first Ballon d’Or while playing for Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2008 and subsequently transferred to Real Madrid, in which he won four more Ballon d’Ors with Los Blancos.
Ronaldo proved his talent by being able to adapt and play with many different teams. He started at Sporting and then transferred to Manchester United, where he developed his craft and became a star player. The rest is history, with him playing at Real Madrid, Juventus. and finally in an unexpected move, went back to his old club, Manchester United in 2021, before eventually going to Al-Nassr, where he currently plays.
Messi, on the other hand, has a record eight Ballon d’Ors, winning them in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. The decade of dominance ended once Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or in 2018, when he won the Champions League with Real Madrid and took Croatia to a world cup final. Karim Benzema, a world class striker at Real Madrid and Ronaldo’s former teammate then won his first Ballon d’Or in 2022. Messi, however, bounced back winning the 2021 and 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Unlike Ronaldo, Messsi was a 1-team player for most of his career. He played for FC Barcelona for 17 seasons and was eventually let go by the club due to an issue with finances whereupon he transferred to PSG and then two years later to Inter-Miami, where he currently plays.
The rivalry and utter dominance of these two players cannot be understated. Even now, Messi and Ronaldo, at the age of 37 and 39 respectively, continue to play exceptionally well for their clubs and break records. It always felt like these two players would never leave football, however, both are getting older; the 2024 Ballon d’Or marks the first year in which both players were not nominated for the award, finally giving way for the new generation to step in. The likes of new rising stars such as Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer now carry the torch.
However, these players are currently only a shadow of Messi and Ronaldo’s decade of dominance. None of the players currently nominated for the Ballon d’Or would have won in the last decade. Their statistics in addition to individual and team performances don’t come even close to that of these two giants.
The only question that remains is: will there be a new rivalry in the upcoming years or will Ronaldo and Messi’s performances never be matched again?
Photo Caption: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
Photo Credit: Fanny Schertzer / Wikimedia Commons