Ahead of next month's Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi cast a shadow over Cristiano Ronaldo.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Lionel Messi excluded Cristiano Ronaldo from the list of strong contenders for this year's Ballon d'Or, which reignited his rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo at the Ballon d'Or. Messi has nominated several star candidates he would vote for, but somewhat surprisingly, he snubbed the Manchester United superstar.
Ahead of the awards ceremony in November, Messi is currently the most likely person to win his seventh Ballon d'Or.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and Chelsea midfielder Jokynho are close behind.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the fifth most popular player after Joquiño's Blues Aeon Ngolo Kante, so he is unlikely to win another Ballon d'Or this year.
Journalists from around the world have been voting for the winner of the prestigious award since 2016, but Messi revealed who he would vote for if he could.
Lionel Messi is a favourite for the 2021 Ballon d'Or.
Messi recently explained that if he had a say, he would consider who would win this year's award, not the journalist.
The Argentine came up with four names — or even one for Real Madrid — but didn't mention Ronaldo, who is snubbing his longtime Ballon d'Or opponent.
He told the team newspaper: "Obviously, there are two players in my team that I would vote for, Neymar and Mbappe.
"Then there's Robert Lewandowski, who just had a great year, and Karim Benzema, who has done a great job."
Messi and Ronaldo's battle for the title of "World's Best Player" has stood the test of time.
In the six years invited to vote for the Ballon d'Or winner, neither star voted for each other, although they played for Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.
A clear example is that in 2012, despite the 34-year-old Messi scoring an incredible 73 goals that year, Ronaldo snubbed Messi.
Messi ignored Cristiano Ronaldo's incredible performances in the 2013-14 season, when he scored 51 goals to help Real Madrid win the Champions League again.
The 2021 pitch is a true all-star lineup, and there's no guarantee that who will win this award.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been competing for the Ballon d'Or for more than a decade.