Lionel Messi told he would have won the Ballon d'Or '15 times' if it hadn't been for Cristiano Ronaldo
Lautaro Martinez believes Lionel Messi would have won the Ballon d'Or '15 times' if it wasn't for great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
WHAT HAPPENED? The Argentine World Cup winner won his eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday night, edging out Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe. Before the 36-year-old picked up another gong, compatriot Martinez, who came 20th on the list following his successful 2022/23 season with Inter and his country, made a striking claim about the Inter Miami star. The 26-year-old claimed that Al-Nassr star Ronaldo, who has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions, was the only player stopping Messi winning this accolade many, many more times.
WHAT THEY SAID: He told ESPN before the ceremony: “He [Messi] had to share this era with Cristiano Ronaldo, otherwise he would have won the Ballon d’Or 15 times.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi is arguably the greatest footballer of all time. He has won just about everything there is to win in the game, both at club and international level. And going by his performances at Inter Miami and for Argentina, where he led them to a World Cup triumph last year, he is not slowing down any time soon. Incidentally, the only other two players not named Messi or Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or since 2007, when Kaka won it, are Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022).
IN TWO PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Messi is likely to link up with Martinez in the coming weeks when Argentina face Uruguay and Brazil on November 17 and 22 respectively.
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