Angel Di Maria has rated the chances of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo winning the 2026 Ballon d’Or after the FIFA World Cup. Both superstars are set for their sixth appearance in the World Cup, which will be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Argentina and Portugal are among the contenders expected to win the trophy. However, only one of these teams will progress beyond the quarter-finals, with the draw pitting them against each other in the last eight of the competition, should they win all their games till that point.
Thanks for the submission!
Even though Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not favorites to win the 2026 Ballon d’Or at the moment, the individual honor could still be decided after taking into account the players’ performances in the World Cup.
Notably, the two superstars have won the award 13 times between them, with Messi (8) holding the record for the most number of wins. The last time Messi won the Ballon d’Or was back in 2023 after Argentina were crowned World Cup champions.
Di Maria, who helped Argentina win the World Cup in 2022 and played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, believes that a similar outcome is still possible in 2026. The Argentine refused to rule out the possibility of either of his ex-teammates winning the Ballon d’Or, should they win the World Cup or become standout performers.
The former Real Madrid winger stated that there is no longer a rivalry like Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo and still thinks either of them will have more pulling power in the race for the award if they produce a memorable World Cup display.
In an interview with the official website of Ballon d’Or, Di Maria claimed:
“Well… it’s normal… At the end of the day, there isn’t a Messi or a Cristiano anymore; that’s over. For me, there won’t be a rivalry as great as that one. That’s why I think that if either of them wins the World Cup or plays a starring role, they’ve got a good chance…”
The Ballon d’Or gala will be held outside France for the first time ever in 2026. London will host the event on October 26.
Who are the leading candidates Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo must surpass to win 2026 Ballon d’Or?
There are a lot of players in contention for football’s biggest individual award this year. Most of them have had impressive performances at club level and hence, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will become a huge factor in deciding the winner.
Harry Kane has scored a staggering 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern Munich this season, helping the Bavarians to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal trophies.
Ousmane Dembele scored 20 goals and bagged 11 assists as Paris Saint-Germain retained their Champions League crown. He also scored in the final against Arsenal as the Ligue 1 champions pulled off a comeback.
Lamine Yamal is another contender after having won LaLiga with Barcelona. Additionally, the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Declan Rice, Vitinha and several others are also believed to be leading contenders.
As such, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will have to produce an outstanding 2026 World Cup campaign to win the award once again.
Edited by Nived Zenith
Source link
