Although the next winner of the annual Ballon d'Or prize won't be crowned for yet another few months, two of the certain nominees--Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo--will be going head to head in what is for La Liga fans the most hotly anticipated game of the year: El Clasico. The star duo have either won or been nominated for every single award dating back to 2007, when former Milan and Real Madrid star Kaka clinched the prize which was then known as the FIFA Player of the Year.
It would prove to be the last time anyone else would win it. Many great players such as Messi's Blaugrana teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta have been nominated, as most recently was Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery, but despite the trio's great performances it was not enough to prevent the pair from walking away with the coveted trophy.
Dominant: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won every single prize since 2008
To that end, UEFA president Michel Platini feels that the 2015 winner should be someone other than the talismanic pair. Platini, who himself won three prizes in a row from 1983 to 1985 while plying his trade with Juventus, was the only player to have clinched it for a treble of consecutive years until Messi broke that back in 2012.
"I don't vote for the Ballon d'Or but, in principle, [in a World Cup year] it [should be] a player who has produced big performances in the tournament who wins it," he noted in an interview with beIN Sport.
"[Hence], it should be a German [to win] this year. It was like that until 2010, when Messi won in spite of having had an average World Cup, so nothing is certain for this year. "
Yet, he was clear to point out that he is taking nothing away from the performance of neither Messi nor CR7:
"However, what is certain is that Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world along with Lionel Messi. There's no doubt about that."
Players like Philipp Lahm, and Thomas Muller are among those who have won a Champions League and then a World Cup in consecutive years
