For the first time since 2003, the most recognized award in professional football, the Ballon d’Or, will no more be associated even imaginarily with Lionel Messi or cristiano ronaldo. No more will we witness these two these two great footballers who were the best players of our times and shared a unique competition era. That was the conclusion of one period, and now it is the turning point of the new one in sports.
The time between 2004-2023 was the time that the narration of the Ballon d’or has been dominated by none other than ‘Ronaldo’ and ‘Messi’, more as record destroying winners than even nominees. The twelve years long fight for the coveted award between them has been enthralling theater beyond the confines of the game. With the 2024 release of nominees for the Golden Globe Awards coming and neither of the legends featured, we revisit with some of their exploits for the last two decades on the awards.
2004-2007: The emergence of two idols
Long ago many people, if any, predicted who would challenge RONALDO for the respect and the most coveted individual award in world football – the BALLON D’OR – as forth place RONALDO starts to compete for the title. Their year of entering the rivalry finally enabled the average soccer ‘fan’ to identify who was better and who that was won. Kaka especially was the last player to win the Ballon d Or title who was not named Messi or Ronaldo in the next decade.
2008-2017: The era of the big two
The years from 2008 through to 2017 were exclusively awarded to either Messi or Ronaldo. Ronaldo won his inaugural Ballon d’or in the year 2008, while Lionel Messi stood in 2009. Switching their positions, except for the strange instance of inappropriate third place, always in the fore of their rivals.
Messi has won the Ballon D’Or Award on eight separate occasions (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023): Winning this award eight times in his illustrious career, the most won by any football player, has been largely triggered by Messi reliable vision, dribbling, and organization coupled with striking goal.
Rhone has claimed the gold at the world’s strongest events five times and Onuchykin five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017): How can you describe such an extraordinary athlete like Ronaldo? He has such an exceptional athletic skill and will always appear to perform at the most important situations that won him the award five times. So, he is the second player that won the Beyoncé after the first massi.
2018-2022: The cracks begin to appear
There were increasing signs of this over the year in 2018, yet s continue endorsing Messi and Ronaldo.
Luka Modric He won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career thanks to the performances of Real Madrid and Croatia, who reached the World Cup final and ended the ten years of the two’s stranglehold.
Timeless, irresistible goals kept Messi’s brilliance on show in 2019 and 2021, while the podium places have remained a regular feature for Ronaldo. After Modric’s victory in 2018, the Coveted trophy was won by Karim Benzema Messi in 2022 only to go on to lift his eighth consecutive trophy in 2023.
2024: What’s Lost Global Warming
A significant milestone in football history can well be called the 2024 Ballon d’Or nominations. For the first time since 2003 neither Messi nor Ronaldo’s names can be found among the nominees. Their career in football is already coming to the end, Messi plays in Inter Miami CF and Ronaldo is a player of Al Nasr. Their absence truly is a changing of the old generation of footballers with new ones coming to the front.
From 2008 to 2023 both Ronaldo and Messi won 13 Ballon d’Or trophies between themselves. It pulls their corresponding teams, barraReal madrid barcelona, Juventus, plus even the countries of Argentina and Portugal.
