There are few individual accolades that have eclipsed Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in their stellar careers.
The football icons have gone head-to-head for some of the game’s biggest prizes over the years, and arguably none more so than the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
Ronaldo and Messi dominated the Ballon d’Or for ten yearsGetty
Having taken home a combined 13 Ballon d’Ors between them, with Messi boasting eight to Ronaldo‘s five, it’s fair to say the pair have dominated this field in recent years.
They took a back seat at the latest instalment of the awards ceremony however, as Manchester City’s Rodri was crowned the world’s best player for 2024 over Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.
But there is actually an even bigger prize that the legendary duo could still battle to get their hands on in 2029, even if either of them are retired by then.
The Ballon d’Or was introduced by France Football in 1956, and extended to players from all over the world in 2007, with only Europeans eligible prior to this.
And while other individual accolades have since been created and awarded on an annual basis, the Super Ballon d’Or is a crown that has been given out much more sparingly.
Designed to acknowledge the best-performing player from the past four decades, this award has been won on just one occasion.
Back in 1989, France Football moved to create the special acknowledgement, and named Real Madrid legend, the late Alfredo Di Stefano as their inaugural winner.
A star in the Los Blancos side that won five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960, Di Stefano scored 308 goals for the club.
He beat the likes of Johan Cruyff, Bobby Charlton and Franz Beckenbauer to the prize over 30 years after his retirement in 1966.
Since then however, no player has joined him in claiming the Super Ballon d’Or trophy, which closely resembles the annual world’s best award, but with mini golden balls at the bottom.
Di Stefano played six times for Argentina, four times for Colombia (not recognised by FIFA) and then 31 times for Spain (with Kubala). He never played in a World Cup.GETTY
Lionel Messi has won the prestigious annual award more times than any other playerGetty
It is given out every 40 years, and there are a number of players who could be optimistic about their chances of receiving the ultimate accolade in 2029.
The prize takes into account the achievements across the winning player’s entire career, their overall impact on the teams they represented, and football as a whole.
This would make only the most dominant stars of recent decades contenders, including Brazilian legend Ronaldo Nazario, Real Madrid and France great Zinedine Zidane and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Marco van Basten.
Cristiano Ronaldo won the first of his five Ballon d’Or awards whilst at Manchester United in 2008Getty Images – Getty
Realistically however, Messi and Ronaldo’s unprecedented individual and collective success means this will likely be a two-horse race.
The pair have won 13 of the last 16 available world’s best player awards, with the 2024 edition the first time in 21 years that neither star has been nominated for the top prize.
The Argentine superstar is the most decorated player in football history with 46 trophies altogether, including the 2022 World Cup.
Meanwhile, his Portuguese rival has scored more goals than any other player in the game, with his staggering total currently sitting at 907 goals in 1,246 games.
Both players will undoubtedly be keen to add the trophy to their collection, with Di Stefano’s having been auctioned off in September 2021 for £187,500 alongside other iconic memorabilia from his career.
