The Messi-Ronaldo era is being called officially over after both the legends failed to make the 30-list Ballon d’Or nomination
Argentine superstar Lionel Messi and his Portuguese counterpart Cristiano Ronaldo have failed to make it to the 30-list nomination for the Ballon d’Or award this year, which will be presented on October 28. This is the first time the two legends have not been included in the list since 2003, which many are pointing to as the end of the Messi-Ronaldo era.
For the uninitiated, Ronaldo was the first to get into the Ballon d’Or nomination in 2004, whereas Messi joined the bandwagon in 2006. Between the two, Messi and Ronaldo shared 13 d’Ors, with Messi having eight and Ronaldo winning five.
Messi and Ronaldo have officially been left off the Ballon d'Or nominee list 🤯
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 4, 2024
The end is near 😞 pic.twitter.com/yk6jdEvduo
We are thoroughly aware of how the battle has been between the two legends. The new-gen fans know the gritty of the Ballon d’Or nominations and wins, as the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo race began in 2008, with Ronaldo winning the first.
However, the memories of football fans may not be able to recount how the Ballon d’Or game was prior to the arrival of Messi and Ronaldo.
In 2003, Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedvěd won the Ballon d’Or with 190 points. He was only the second Czech to receive the award and the first after the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Behind was Thierry Henry with 128 points whereas the third position went to Paolo Maldini with 123 points. The other seven players in order were Andriy Shevchenko, Zinedine Zidane, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Raúl, Roberto CarlosGianluigi Buffon and David Beckham.
Exactly on this day in 2003, Pavel Nedved won the Ballon d’Or to become sixth Juventus player to do it. 🥇🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/609dcFSTx2
— Max Statman (@emaxstatman) December 22, 2021
Ronaldo, Henrik Larsson, Alessandro Del Piero, Dida, Roy Makaay, Alessandro Nesta, Deco, Nihat Kahveci, Francesco Totti, and Michael Ballack were the players who ranked between 11 and 20—players whose names may not be known today by new-gen football enthusiasts.