Lionel Messi may have beaten longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo to FIFA's The Best Men's Player award this year, but the Portuguese superstar has now extended an impressive Ballon d'Or record over his arch-nemesis.
Click through the gallery above to see Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or wins.
Both players made the 30-man Ballon d'Or shortlist announced by France Football on Monday, and are in contention to lift their sixth Golden Ball.
However, Ronaldo wrote his name into the award's history books after being nominated for a 16th year in a row.
No other player can look back at such an impressive reign since the award was first launched in 1956 – Messi follows in second place with 14 successive nominations.
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After Virgil van Dijk was named the 2019 UEFA Player of the Year and Messi won FIFA's The Best Men's Player prize, it remains to be seen whether or not Ronaldo can turn his Ballon d'Or nomination into victory.
Here is a full history of Messi and Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or nominations and what positions they finished in:
|
Year |
Ronaldo |
Messi |
|
2004 |
12 |
Not nominated |
|
2005 |
20 |
Not nominated |
|
2006 |
14 |
20 |
|
2007 |
2 |
3 |
|
2008 |
winner |
2 |
|
2009 |
2 |
winner |
|
2010 |
6 |
winner |
|
2011 |
2 |
winner |
|
2012 |
2 |
winner |
|
2013 |
winner |
2 |
|
2014 |
winner |
2 |
|
2015 |
2 |
winner |
|
2016 |
winner |
2 |
|
2017 |
winner |
2 |
|
2018 |
2 |
5 |
|
2019 |
nominated |
nominated |
Read: Messi Responds To CR7's Claims He Should Leave Barca
If either of the two rivals is crowned the 2019 Ballon d'Or winner, they would be lifting the accolade a record-breaking sixth time.
Who do you think will win this year's Ballon d'Or award? Have your say in the comments section below.
