Ahead of tonight's Golden Ball awards ceremony , Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned again. However, CR7's name is only suggested as one of the next times to be the basis for M10 in this prestigious race.

Ahead of tonight’s Golden Ball awards ceremony , Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are mentioned again. However, CR7’s name is only suggested as one of the next times to be the basis for M10 in this prestigious race.

Ronaldo, Messi and the legends who won the most Golden Balls in history — Messi and the 2021 Golden Ball title, the 7th time in the Argentine superstar’s career. Photo: AFP

Ronaldo and Messi started a duel to win the Golden Ball in 2008. After winning a double major title in 2008 with Man United, CR7 opened the era of competition between him and Messi. Together they will win 12 Golden Balls from then until 2022 (Messi has 7 times and Ronaldo has 5).

The person who entered the race between CR7 and M10 was Luka Modric in 2018. In 2020, Bayern Munich was unmatched with the treble. Robert Lewandowski is the brightest star but was very unlucky not to win this prestigious award from France Football. The reason is because that year, the organizing committee announced the cancellation of this award because of COVID-19.

Last year, Karim Benzema was honored after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid in an unbelievable scenario.

Benzema is the reigning Golden Ball. Photo: AFP

Before the awards Gala tonight, Lionel Messi is the person whose name is mentioned the most. Since the Golden Ball changed the rules and scoring criteria for journalists, no one in the 2022-2023 season has stood out more than El Puga. He and Argentina won the 2022 World Cup, a World Cup held in winter.

If the festival in Qatar was held in the summer, it is unlikely that M10 would have outperformed Erling Haaland. Last season, the Norwegian super striker helped Manchester City win the treble. However, the fact that Messi lifted the World Cup title was enough for him to capture all eyes. Last week, SPORT newspaper also revealed that the 36-year-old legend was the winner of this title for the 8th time in his career.

If he continues to gain glory, Messi will become an unprecedented phenomenon. In a player’s career, winning a Golden Ball is very difficult, let alone owning it many times, maybe even 8 times like Messi. Currently, the Inter Miami star has arrived in France to attend the awards Gala.

Messi is Argentina's leader in the 2022 World Cup campaign. Photo: AFP — Messi is Argentina’s leader in the 2022 World Cup campaign. Photo: AFP

Ronaldo’s performance at Al-Nassr and the Portuguese team from the beginning of the season until now is very high. CR7, at the age of 38, has just passed the 40-goal mark in 2023 and promises to score many more goals before entering 2024. However, that is not enough or too late for Ronaldo to make a stronger impression than Messi. In the context of Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup, Portugal was eliminated quite early by Morocco.

This season until the summer of 2024, Ronaldo is determined to win all the titles. If he plays well in the Al-Nassr shirt and wins EURO 2024 (the EURO could be the last in his career), all glory will belong to this superstar.

Like Messi, Ronaldo is a legend that is difficult for anyone to surpass as he has won the Golden Ball 5 times. Having this award less than his colleague does not mean that Ronaldo is underestimated in his career.

Ronaldo has won the Golden Ball five times in his career, but the last time was in 2017. Photo: AFP

Historically, there have been many people who have won the Ballon d’Or three times, such as Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten. Currently, among these three people, Platini and Van Basten are still contemporary. Previously, “Saint” Johan Cruyff passed away in 2016 from cancer.