Football’s next-gen throne battle ready to ignite amid Messi’s final GOAT dagger to Ronaldo

For the past two decades, the battle for the Ballon d’Or – the top individual award in football – has been dominated by two names: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

The two have shared a remarkable 13 crowns between them, after Messi claimed the trophy for a record-extending eighth time at Tuesday morning’s ceremony in Paris.

With Ronaldo now 38 years old and Messi 36, and with neither playing in Europe, this year is almost certainly the last time either player hoists the most precious and prestigious solo trophy.

It is the end of an era – but the future is bright.

Stream Over 50 Sports Live & On-Demand with Kayo. Join now and start streaming instantly >

On the back of his World Cup heroics in Qatar last year, where Messi scored seven times including twice in the final as he captained Argentina to glory, the diminutive genius now leads his great rival eight Ballon d’Or trophies to five.

It might just be the final blow in the debate over which player is the GOAT – the greatest of all time. Always subjective and able to spark debate among fans both hard-core and casual, there will never be a definitive answer to that question.

As far as international trophies go, both have a continental title (Copa America for Messi, European Championship for Ronaldo) – but Messi boasts the ultimate prize, the World Cup trophy. Of course, both players could still win another continental title (particularly Messi at next year’s Copa America) or even the World Cup in 2026.

When it comes to club trophies, Messi trails his rival 5-4 in Champions League titles, but has more league crowns (12-7) and domestic cups (7-6).

Ronaldo has more career goals on both the domestic and international stages, while Messi has more assists in both