5 players who can beat Messi and Ronaldo to the Ballon d'Or this year
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated world football over the past decade and a half but neither of them might win the Ballon d'Or this time around.
The Ballon d'Or was canceled in 2020 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic but is set to return this year. This year, unlike what we've witnessed over the past decade and a half, the race for football's most prestigious individual prize has been blown wide open and become quite unpredictable.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi exercised a sort of duopoly over the Ballon d'Or between 2008 and 2019 with Luka Modric's win in 2018 the only anomaly. Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2019 and would have been a strong contender had the award not been canceled last year.
Though both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have stacked up great numbers, there are several worthy candidates in the running for the Ballon d'Or this time around.
Will the Lionel Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo duopoly over the Ballon d'Or be broken this year?
The Euros and Copa America are set to take place in the summer and these tournaments will have quite a say over who's going home with the Ballon d'Or at the end of the year. Messi has a record six Ballon d'Ors while Ronaldo has five and the latter will be desperate to win it again, though his chances this year are rather slim at the moment.
Cristiano Ronaldo's chances could greatly improve if he can lead Portugal to a triumphant run at the Euros. Lionel Messi, on the other hand, has already won the Copa Del Rey and Barcelona are still in with a shout in the La Liga title race. It remains to be seen whether Messi can finally inspire Argentina to Copa America glory.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who can beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d'Or this year.
5 players who can beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to the Ballon d'Or this year
#5 Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan)
After an underwhelming spell at Manchester United, Romelu Lukaku was signed by Inter Milan for €80 million in the summer of 2019. He silenced all his critics in his debut Serie A campaign, scoring 32 goals across the Serie A, Champions League and the Europa League. He has taken it one step further by leading Inter Milan to the Serie A title this season.
At Inter Milan, Antonio Conte plays a style of football where his forwards have a lot of space to run into and that's exactly the kind of environment in which Lukaku has thrived. He has continued to be prolific for Belgium as well, scoring seven goals from seven appearances this term.
Lukaku has scored 27 goals and racked up 10 assists in 41 appearances for Inter Milan across all competitions this term. Lukaku is currently the second top goalscorer in the Serie A this season with 21 goals, six fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo's haul.
Belgium are also strong contenders for the Euros title and a great showing in the competition could do wonders for Lukaku's chances in the race for the Ballon d'Or.
#4 Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
No defender has won the Ballon d'Or since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. In fact, only four players have won the Ballon d'Or in the subsequent 13 years - Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Luka Modric. However, Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk did come quite close after he led the Merseysiders to Champions League glory.
Ruben Dias has had a similar effect at Manchester City. A big-money signing from Benfica, Dias has been a great addition to Pep Guardiola's backline. He has built a strong partnership with John Stones, keeping 14 cleansheets in 29 appearances in the Premier League, and Manchester City are on course to win the league title with the best defensive record in the league.
Ruben Dias has produced exceptional performances in the Champions League as well and has played a big role in City's journey to the final. The 23-year-old has already won the Carabao Cup with City and they're favourites to win the Champions League as well.
In addition to all that, Portugal are one of the strongest sides in the Euros with players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and an in-form Andre Silva leading the line. A good run in the competition could further solidify Dias' chances of making it to the podium and even winning the Ballon d'Or.