Move over Messi and Ronaldo: a new generation of footballing stars are ready to compete for the Ballon d’Or
Monday’s ceremony in Paris should bring the curtain down on a chapter of history in football. There may be a sense of emptiness, too, in the knowledge that one of the greatest sporting rivalries is finally drawing toward its denouement.
The Associated Press quoted Jonathan Wilson, a London-based author on football-related subjects: “It’s interesting that people are already looking forward to the next mega-rivalry when this one is about to finish.” He added, “It’s almost as if that rivalry were inevitable, but it wasn’t at all. Also, there has never been a feud quite like this one before ever.
Messi and Ronaldo as well together won the many prestigious Ballon d’Or a record 13 times in their 16-year stranglehold on individual football honors. Neither will feature this year.
In their stead, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior is almost certain to be one of the contenders when the world’s best player is unveiled, thus probably becoming the first player born in this century to claim the title.
Vinicius had done the talking with a sublime hat trick in the Champions League vs Borussia Dortmund in this week.
Vinicius’ teammate at Real Madrid, Lucas Vazquez, told me, “Vinicius had an amazing season and managed to turn himself into an important player who showed that he is the best player in the world.”.
It is likely, instead, to revert to being a sign of a return to the pre-Messi/Ronaldo era where back-to-back winners were extremely rare.
An example is French icon Zinedine Zidane, who managed only once to lift the trophy. The same is true about Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Luis Figo, and George Best. Icons like Pele and Diego Maradona were once restricted to European players and never secured the title.
Also, before Messi, the only player to win successive Ballon d’Ors had been “Marco van Basten” which was in 1988 and 1989 as well.
Last year, Messi won a record eighth Ballon d’Or after leading Argentina to victory in the World Cup 2022. According to Jonathan Wilson, the author of Angels with Dirty Faces, there is no obvious candidate to replace him, who currently plays for Inter Miami, having represented Barcelona.
He told Wilson it was unbelievable how much greatness he had been able to sustain for 17 or 18 years. “It’s more than just numerical figures.” As far as keeping up long-term brilliant performance, Messi is on another stratosphere compared to other soccer players. In this world, there isn’t a person who can have such caliber of talent.
The Messi-Ronaldo era was huge. And, if Vinicius Junior were to win it, he would become the first winner born in the 2000s and the earliest winner from the 1990s onwards too.
Vinicius, instrumental in Real Madrid’s 15th European Cup win last season, is representative of the next wave of talent now that Messi and Ronaldo are approaching the ends of their careers.
Perhaps Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal will be some of the biggest stars fighting for this award for many years to come.
Moreover, Rodri of Manchester City is probably the best positioned to become the first winner born in the 1990s.
Born in 1998, he had been touted as the next big star after the great player Messi and Ronaldo. Rodri might not be victorious, but it’s almost for sure that the Ballon d’Or winner from the 1990s generation may pop up anytime soon.
Only Luka Modrić, in 2018, and Karim Benzema, in 2022, have so far been able to break the hegemony of Messi and Ronaldo over this award since Ronaldo’s first win in the competition.
The award was withdrawn in 2020, because Robert Lewandowski, who topped that year’s poll, was also a product of the 1980s. Neymar, a 1992 baby, has finished third on two occasions.
The so-called Ballon d’Or is an award established by France Football magazine, which each year since 1956 has given recognition to the best players. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking, with one journalist participating from each country. They vote for the best 10 players, and points are given according to position, so the player with the biggest sum is the winner.
Most of all, dominance by Messi and Ronaldo has enhanced the enormous value of this award, which the era of social media has given totally new meaning. Now, they have wishes about winning the award, like they used to about the Champions League or World Cup.
It is factored in on transfer negotiations-a potential Ballon d’Or victory-with agreements containing a clause requiring the buying club to deliver more bonuses if the player is cited as the best in the world.
Although Vinícius seems to be the favorite this year, the possible rivalry that could be generated between Mbappé and Haaland could turn out to be the next great fight that will emerge for the award since they represent Real Madrid and Manchester City, respectively; the best teams in Europe in recent times.
Competition and individual duels are part of football now, Matt Oldfield, an author on football, told the AP. “People want to see a head-to-head, and I think all this talk about Mbappé and Haaland is ready to do that,” he said.
Oldfield, the founder of children’s football novels, tries his luck in taking the popular poll in schools. He recently launched a series called The Football GOAT. The first book covered Messi and Ronaldo, while the second features Mbappé and Haaland: “We’re moving beyond Messi and Ronaldo,” he said.
