Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did not vote for each other until 2018.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have together won a whopping 18 Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best awards, but who have they voted for over the years?
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The nominations for the Ballon d’Or 2025 will be revealed on August 7, with the ceremony scheduled for September 22 in Paris.
Players such as Ousmane Dembélé (who helped Paris Saint-Germain win four trophies last year), Lamine Yamal and Mohamed Salah are among the candidates to win this year’s coveted award.
Yamal impressed for Barcelona when they won La Liga last year and shone for Spain at Euro 2024, while Salah had 47 assists as he led Liverpool to the Premier League title.
PSG’s Vitinha and Barcelona’s Raphinha are also in the picture for the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
However, Messi and Ronaldo are not expected to win any more Ballon d’Or awards, as they now play outside of Europe.
But they dominated the Ballon d’Or for many years, where the two legends’ grip on the prestigious award lasted from 2008 to 2021.
Only one player (Luka Modrić) won the award apart from them during this period, while they themselves have 13 awards in total.
They have also won the FIFA Best award since it was introduced in 2016.
- Messi has won it 3 times.
- Ronaldo has won it 2 times.
But Messi and Ronaldo refused to vote for each other – until 2018, when Messi first voted for Ronaldo, who returned the gesture in 2020.
Who did Lionel Messi vote for in the Ballon d’Or/FIFA Best?
Ballon d’Or:
- 2010: Didn’t vote
- 2011: Xavi, Iniesta, Sergio Agüero
- 2012: Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Sergio Agüero
- 2013: Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Neymar
- 2014: Ángel Di María, Andrés Iniesta, Javier Mascherano
- 2015: Luis Suárez, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta
FIFA Best:
- 2016: Luis Suárez, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta
- 2017: Luis Suárez, Andrés Iniesta, Neymar
- 2018: Luka Modrić, Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2019: Sadio Mané, Cristiano Ronaldo, Frenkie de Jong
- 2020: Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski
- 2021: Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema
- 2022: Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema
- 2023: Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Julián Álvarez
Who did Cristiano Ronaldo vote for in the Ballon d’Or/FIFA Best?
Ballon d’Or:
- 2010: Xavi, Iker Casillas, Wesley Sneijder
- 2011: Didn’t vote
- 2012: Didn’t vote
- 2013: Radamel Falcao, Gareth Bale, Mesut Özil
- 2014: Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema
- 2015: Karim Benzema, James Rodríguez, Gareth Bale
FIFA Best:
- 2016: Gareth Bale, Luka Modrić, Sergio Ramos
- 2017: Luka Modrić, Sergio Ramos, Marcelo
- 2018: Raphaël Varane, Luka Modrić, Antoine Griezmann
- 2019: Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong, Kylian Mbappé
- 2020: Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé
- 2021: Robert Lewandowski, N’Golo Kanté, Jorginho
- 2022: Didn’t vote
- 2023: Didn’t vote
Summary:
- The first time Messi voted for Ronaldo: 2018
- The first time Ronaldo voted for Messi: 2020
- Most votes from Messi: Andrés Iniesta (5), Neymar (5)
- Most votes from Ronaldo: Gareth Bale (3), Luka Modrić (3), Sergio Ramos (3)
Both have had a clear preference for former teammates and players from the same league. Now that both play outside of Europe, it is unlikely that they themselves will be included in future votes.
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