Soccer or football…you can name this sport however you want. There are billions of people in the world that are actively following it. Some people will say this sport is more characteristic for the male population. However, some ladies will also enjoy games with their partners, brother, friends, etc.
However, one thing that we need to say is that football is not just a game, and many people consider it more valuable. If you have your favorite team, then we are sure you are watching every single game. In case you are supporting a local team, we are sure you have watched many games so far in person. On the other hand, if you support a club from another country, then we are sure that you haven’t skipped a single game. Watching football matches on TV and betting in some of the best online casinos reviewed on ibebet can be entertaining as well.
Indeed, soccer or football is a group sport, but that doesn’t mean a lot of people do have their favorite player. One of the favorite athletes in all parts of the world is Cristiano Ronaldo without any doubt. This 36-year old football player has 317 million followers on Instagram. That makes him the most followed person on this social media platform of all.
As you know, he is still playing very well, and there is a big chance things won’t change in the future. The reason for that is simple – he is a disciplined person that is completely dedicated to this sport. However, one of the questions that all people have is – will Ronaldo win the next Balloon D’or? Answering that question requires in-depth analysis. Let’s find out a few useful pieces of information together!
How Many Times Has Cristiano Ronaldo Won Ballon d’Or?
People are not even aware of how lucky they are for living in the era of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Currently, Messi is a bit better because he has 6 Ballon D’ors while Cristiano has them “only” five. In the last 4 years, he hasn’t won a single one. However, between 2013 and 2017, he managed to win 4 four of them (the fifth one is from 2008). 2015 is the only one when he was in second place on that list (Messi won it).
One fact confirms that these two players are the best ones in the history of football. As mentioned, Ronaldo has 5 rewards, but it is good to mention that he reached second place 6 times. On the other hand, Messi won them 6, but he was in second place five times. This generally confirms our statement that we are living in the football era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
So, Will Cristiano Manage to Win Sixth Ballon D’or?
It is hard to give a precise answer here. As you know, Juventus, Cristiano’s current club, hasn’t won the title in Seria after many successful years. On the other hand, Portugal didn’t manage to achieve some success in the recent UEFA European championship as well. Portugal lost against Belgium in the first knock-out match.
Indeed, we also need to put into consideration that Cristiano Ronaldo was the top scorer in Seria A in the previous season. He managed to score 29 goals and 3 assists in 33 matches. We can all agree that someone who is 36 years old can be proud of this result.
Anyway, the winners of the previous Ballon D’ors often had won some of the most prestigious trophies. Let’s use Luka Modric as an example. In the only year when neither Cristiano nor Messi won the reward for the best player, Luka managed to win the Club World Cup in 2017, be one of the key players in the Champions League, and reach the finals with the Croatia national team on a World Cup. This year, Ronaldo didn’t manage to do either of those things.
So, Who Could Be the Next Winner of Ballon d’Or?
As mentioned, people need to put into consideration different factors that could influence the outcome. That is the reason why we would like to highlight some of the players that could potentially win the reward for being the best player on the planet this year.
Lionel Messi
We will start the list with one of the best players of all time. This and the previous year were special for Lionel Messi. Many people believed that he will leave Barcelona after many years, but he decided to stay and accept to play for less money.
Anyway, after 15 years, Messi finally managed to win Copa America. Despite that, he also managed to win Copa Del Rey. These two achievements definitely put them on the top of the list of Ballon D’or candidates.
Robert Lewandowski
We can all agree that Robert Lewandowski was definitely the main candidate for Ballon D’or last year. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, FIFA decided not to give this trophy to anyone. Did that demotivated Lewandowski? Absolutely not, and he is one of the main candidates this year as well.
In 2024, Lewandowski managed to give 34 goals (he also had 4 assistants). Speaking of team achievements, he managed to win Bundesliga as well as Club World Cup. Many journalists already believe that Messi and Lewandowski are going to be the main competitors this year. After you read the facts that we shared for both, then you probably understand why we have such a scenario.
Jorginho
Jorginho is not the type of player that will score a lot of goals. Moreover, he is a midfielder, and that is not his main task. However, when you know that he managed to win the Champions League as well as Euro 2024, then you can be sure that he definitely deserves to be on this list. Just like Modric a few years ago, Jorginho played a key role in both tournaments. Besides, Chelsea had a handsome season in the Premier League, where he was also one of the key players. All these facts only confirm that Jorginho deserves Nallon D’or and 2024.
Final Thought
Cante, Lukaku, Mbappe, and De Bruyne are definitely on that list. However, their chances are a lot lower because they haven’t managed to win some of the most prestigious trophies. The same rule counts for Cristiano. Unfortunately for him, winning Ballon D’or this year seems impossible.
