Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, stated on Saturday that the prestigious individual award should go to a player whose team has won the Champions League.
Ahead of Sunday’s Nations League final between Portugal and Spain in Munich, the 40-year-old forward emphasised that trophies should be the deciding factor in awarding the Ballon d’Or.
“In my opinion, the player who wins it should be part of a team that has won trophies. The Ballon d’Or winner should be from a team that has triumphed in the Champions League,” Ronaldo told reporters.
The Ballon d’Or, first awarded in 1956 by French magazine France Football, recognises the player deemed the best in the world over the previous season.
After Paris Saint-Germain’s 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, calls for Ousmane Dembele to win the award have increased. At the same time, Lamine Yamal’s brilliant performance in Spain’s 5-4 Nations League semi-final victory over France sparked debates about whether the 17-year-old should be the youngest ever Ballon d’Or recipient.
France’s coach Didier Deschamps expressed his support for Dembele, saying, “Considering the season Ousmane is having, he deserves it, and that’s all I wish for him.” France captain Kylian Mbappe also threw his weight behind Dembele, declaring, “Right now, we’re talking about Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembele, but I’m voting for Dembele.”
Ronaldo, however, refrained from naming a clear favourite for the award this year, stating, “I cannot tell you who deserves it.”
With five Ballon d’Ors, Ronaldo’s record is surpassed only by Lionel Messi, who has won the prestigious award eight times. The duo dominated the Ballon d’Or for a decade, from Ronaldo’s first win in 2008 to his last in 2017.
The current holder of the Ballon d’Or is Rodri, the Spain and Manchester City midfielder.
