After Lionel Messi earned his record-setting sixth “FIFA Best” award, FIFA also released the data of how each player voted.
It appeared that Cristiano Ronaldo failed to vote for his nemesis Lionel Messi while Messi cast a ballot for CR7 sandwiched in between Sadio Mane and Frankie De Jong.
Ronaldo picked Matthijs de Ligt, Frenkie de Jong and Kylian Mbappe, in that order.
Ronaldo and Messi's voting records in “The Best” and Ballon d’Or awards
Even more, it emerged that Ronaldo has in fact, never voted for Messi in either “The Best” or Ballon D’Or Awards for nearly a decade.
Cristiano Ronaldo voting
Ballon d’Or
- 2010: Xavi, Casillas, Sneijder
- 2011: Did not vote
- 2012: Did not vote
- 2013: Falcao, Bale, Ozil
- 2014: Ramos, Bale, Benzema
- 2015: Benzema James, Bale
The Best
- 2016: Bale, Modric, Ramos
- 2017: Modric, Ramos, Marcelo
- 2018: Varane, Modric, Griezmann
- 2019: De Ligt, De Jong, Mbappe
Lionel Messi voting
Ballon d’Or
- 2010: Did not vote
- 2011: Xavi, Iniesta, Aguero
- 2012: Iniesta, Xavi, Aguero
- 2013: Iniesta, Xavi, Neymar
- 2014: Di Maria, Iniesta, Mascherano
- 2015: Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta
The Best
- 2016: Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta
- 2017: Suarez, Iniesta, Neymar
- 2018: Modric, Mbappe, Ronaldo
- 2019: Mane, Ronaldo, De Jong
Why Ronaldo continues to omit Messi is odd, considering he praised his arch-rival at this year’s UEFA awards. Virgil Van Dyk took home the award for UEFA Men’s Player of the year.
“We’ve shared the stage for 15 years, me and him. I don’t know if that’s ever happened in football, the same two guys, the same stage, all the time. It’s not easy,” said Ronaldo.
“We have a good relationship. We’ve not had dinner together – yet – but I hope to in the future.
“I miss playing in Spain, we had that battle the last 15 years which is good, he pushed me and I pushed him. It’s good to be in the history of football. I’m there and he’s there as well.”
While both players tend to favor teammates in their voting selections, Ronaldo’s propensity to avoid voting for Messi shines a light on his decade-long competitive perception of his arch-rival.
