USMNT legend cites Cristiano Ronaldo example while explaining why Christian Pulisic is unlikely to win Ballon d'Or award
USMNT legend Alexi Lalas cited the example of Cristiano Ronaldo while explaining why Christian Pulisic is unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or in the future. No USMNT player has won the coveted Golden Ball so far, although USWNT star Megan Rapinoe won the Ballon d'Or Feminin in 2019.
Christian Pulisic has been in impressive form for Serie A side AC Milan this season, recording seven goals and five assists in 15 outings across competitions. He also captains the US men's national team with 31 goals in 74 caps. The 26-year-old is often considered one of the USMNT players who could win France Football's coveted award in the future.
Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas recently referred to Cristiano Ronaldo to explain why Pulisic is unlikely to win the Ballon d'Or. In an interview on the latest episode of the State of the Union podcast, he said (via Essentially Sports):
“He [Pulisic] is not larger than life. I know this is subjective but this stardust and stardom that some of these players that we’re talking about; Cristiano Ronaldo, even Vinicius Jr, and these types of players, it does matter. It doesn’t always matter, because we’ve seen some unsexy types of picks but they’re few and far between.”
Lalas added:
“If you’re going to overcome these things, then you better be Zlatan-esque and larger-than-life things that you do and Christian Pulisic is never going to be like that."
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or five times in his career, marking the second-most number of times in history after Lionel Messi's eight. The Portuguese talisman won his first golden ball in 2008 at the age of 23. He then went on to win it in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Ronaldo's first win came as a Manchester United player, while his other four triumphs came during his stint at Real Madrid (2009-2018).
When Cristiano Ronaldo named his favorites to win the Ballon d'Or from the next generation
In a conversation with Rio Ferdinand on his YouTube channel, Cristiano Ronaldo named four players who are likely to win the Ballon d'Or from the next generation. He said (via Si.com):
"In my opinion, [Kylian Mbappé] can be the next golden ball winner for the next years. Him, probably [Erling] Haaland, [Jude] Bellingham, Lamine [Yamal]. The new generation, they have a lot of potential."
All four players Ronaldo mentioned were nominated for the 2024 Ballon d'Or and made it among the top 10 in the list. Jude Bellingham stood third in the rankings, while Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe stood fifth and sixth respectively.
Barcelona ace Lamine Yamal stood eighth in the rankings and also won the Kopa Trophy. Manchester City star Rodri went on to win the Golden Ball in 2024.