Business Standard

Ballon d'Or award reignites the Ronaldo-Messi rivalry

The award has sparked the debate whether it is bestowed according to personal merit or team performance

Cristiano Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo

Nibir Deka
Second time in a row, Real Madrid player and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo on 7th December beat Lionel Messi to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or. Neymar, former Barcelona and now PSG forward, came third. Messi and Ronaldo are on an even keel by winning the award five times in a row and have been the only recipients of the award since 2008.

The last footballer apart from Messi and Ronaldo to win the prestigious award was Ricardo Kaka, from Brazil, back in 2007. After drawing level with Lionel Messi in terms of Ballons d'Or won, Ronaldo told France Football magazine that

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