“These players are monsters” - When Sadio Mane offered opinion on Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi during race for Ballon d’Or
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were once labeled as monsters during the Ballon d'Or race by former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane. The Senegalese was among the 30-man nominee list for the award and narrowly missed out on a podium finish after coming fourth.
The Argentinean, who was then with Barcelona, won the coveted award that year, pipping Mane's teammate Virgil van Dijk to the award. It would be his sixth Ballon d'Or, which would set a new record. The forward would go on to win two more to further establish himself as one of the best in the history of the beautiful game.
Van Dijk, meanwhile, registered 679 points that year, just seven points behind La Pulga. The Portuguese, meanwhile, finished third with 476 points. Speaking to L'Equipe du Soir in the buildup to the award, Sadio Mane admitted that he was not in the same league as the Argentinean and the Portuguese.
“These players [Messi and Ronaldo] are monsters. I think that I am still far away from them. As I have said, I am going to do everything I can to come a little closer to them,” said Mane.
Mane picked up 347 points that year after helping Liverpool win the Champions League. He registered 26 goals and four assists from 50 games across competitions.
Is Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's reign on the Ballon d'Or over?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo had a monopoly over the Ballon d'Or trophy for almost a decade and a half. They first finished on the podium in 2007 when Kaka won the coveted award.
A year later, the duo was back on the big stage, with the Portuguese picking up the top prize thanks to his efforts with Manchester United. In 2009, it was the Argentinean's time to get his hands on the award.
Since then, Luka Modric (2018) and Karim Benzema (2022) were the only other players who managed to get their hands on the prestigious trophy. Messi is the reigning champion, having won the award in 2023 but hasn't made it to the shortlist this year.
Interestingly, Cristiano Ronaldo isn't among the nominees either and perhaps their dominance on the trophy is finally over. Vinicius Junior is the favorite to win the Ballon d'Or this year, following a splendid season with Real Madrid.
However, Rodri also remains in the race after winning the Premier League with Manchester City and Euro 2024 with Spain.