Lionel Messi Snubs Ronaldo, Reveals 4 Superstars He Will Vote To Win This Year's Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi Snubs Ronaldo, Reveals 4 Superstars He Will Vote To Win This Year's Ballon d'Or

Babajide Orevba, Tshepiso Mametela
updated at April 12, 2023 at 7:48 PM
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  • Lionel Messi is set to vote one of Mbappe, Neymar, Lewandowski, or Benzema to win this year's Ballon d'Or
  • The Argentine failed to include Cristiano Ronaldo on his list of favourites despite the Man United striker's exploits this season since his return to the EPL
  • Messi has won the Ballon d'Or award a record six times followed by Cristiano Ronaldo who has won five

Lionel Messi has snubbed Cristiano Ronaldo on the list of nominees who he will vote to win this year's Ballon d'Or award.

Messi has won the award a record six times while playing for Barcelona, followed by Ronaldo, who has won five (one with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid).

Lionel Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Lewandowski, Benzema
Lionel Messi snubs Ronaldo, reveals he will rather vote one of Mbappe, Neymar, Lewandowski or Benzema to win this year's Ballon d'Or. Image: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP
Source: Getty Images

And as we build up to yet another edition of the award, Messi says he would rather give the award to one of his PSG teammates - Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

The pair, along with Messi are yet to really gel together this season at PSG, but the Argentine is still convinced they have enough talent to be considered for the Ballon d'Or.

The 34-year-old told L'Equipe and as seen on The Sun: "In my team, there are two for whom I will easily vote: Neymar and Kylian Mbappé."

Messi couldn't overlook Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski's impact as well as that of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema this season.

Messi added: "And then Robert Lewandowski, who has just had a great year and Karim Benzema who was excellent."

Surprisingly, it's not just Messi who doubts Ronaldo will add a sixth Ballon d'Or to his trophy cabinet.

Bookies have got the Portuguese star down as the sixth favourite to win the prize, behind Chelsea aces Jorgino and N'Golo Kante.

Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski, Jorginho named in top 15 favourite players for the 2021 Ballon d'Or

Earlier, Briefly News reported that following his Copa America glory back in the summer, Argentine legend Lionel Messi joins a few contenders for this year’s coveted Balon d’Or award.

The former Barcelona captain also had a terrific season before he was forced out of the Spanish club as he joins French Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain during the summer, MEN reports.

Also, Champions League winners for Chelsea Jorginho and N’Golo Kante are also tipped to contend with Messi for the prestigious award, but Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski cannot be ruled out.

Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was also tipped to win the Yashin Trophy following his exploits that saw Italy win Euro 2020 during the summer as he is expected to see off challenges from Edouard Mendy and Ederson.

Authors
Babajide Orevba photo
Babajide Orevba
Babajide Orevba is a CAF accredited Nigerian journalist and HOD of the Local Desk with over 10 years of experience in media landscape.He studied NCE Political Science/Social Studies, AOCOED.
Tshepiso Mametela photo
Tshepiso Mametela
SA Editor
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