Despite a 4-year snub, Ronaldo still holds one major Ballon d’Or record Messi perhaps will never match | Football News

Ronaldo still leads Messi in Ballon d’Or nominations, despite missing out for four consecutive years/ Image: X

Cristiano Ronaldo may have missed the Ballon d’Or shortlist for a fourth consecutive year, but there is still one major category in the award’s history where the Portugal star remains ahead of Lionel Messi.Messi’s return to the 2026 shortlist has brought the two greatest rivals of their generation back into the same conversation, but it has not been enough to overturn Ronaldo’s long-standing advantage for the most Ballon d’Or nominations.

Ronaldo remains one nomination ahead of Messi

France Football has revealed the final list of 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon d’Or, with Messi included after another impressive campaign for club and country.His inclusion takes Messi’s career total to 17 Ballon d’Or nominations, according to Spanish newspaper AS, leaving him second on the all-time list.Ronaldo remains out in front with 18 nominations.That is particularly notable given that Ronaldo has not appeared on the shortlist since 2022.Also read: Why Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or despite ending 7-year trophy drought
Cristiano Ronaldo holds the all-time record with 18 Ballon d’Or nominations, with his first coming in 2004. He then appeared among the award’s initial contenders for 18 consecutive years, an extraordinary run that lasted until 2022.Out of those 18 nominations, he won the prestigious trophy five times across his career. His victory years and the clubs he represented include:

Messi’s 2026 nomination therefore narrows the gap to just one, but Ronaldo still holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or nominations in history.Paolo Maldini sits third with 13 nominations, while Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer and Karim Benzema have each been nominated 12 times.Just behind them are Zlatan Ibrahimović, Gianluigi Buffon, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini and Eusébio, all of whom made the shortlist 11 times.Ronaldo’s 18 appearances and Messi’s 17 therefore put them comfortably clear of every other player in the history of the award.

Messi’s World Cup heroics and MLS form both strengthened his case

Messi’s latest nomination was also supported by another outstanding World Cup campaign with Argentina, marking his record sixth consecutive appearance at the tournament. He helped lead his country to the 2026 final, scoring eight goals and providing four assists during the competition.The campaign also saw Messi briefly become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 21 goals, before being overtaken by Kylian Mbappé.Those numbers added another major international achievement to his résumé and helped explain why he returned to the Ballon d’Or shortlist at the age of 39.His club form backed up the international résumé too. In the 2026 MLS season with Inter Miami, Messi has recorded 18 goals and 10 assists in 20 appearances, continuing to produce at an elite level even as the club defends the MLS Cup title it won for the first time last season. Between a World Cup final run and a productive campaign in MLS, Messi’s case for a 17th nomination was built on two fronts at once, not just one.

Messi is now the oldest nominated player of the 21st century

Messi’s latest nomination also brought him another individual record.At 39 years old, he has become the oldest player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or in the 21st century, surpassing Ronaldo’s previous mark.Ronaldo was 37 when he was nominated in 2022.Messi’s achievement is impressive, but it does not give him the all-time record. That still belongs to Stanley Matthews, the inaugural Ballon d’Or winner in 1956.Matthews was 41 years old when he claimed the prestigious prize and remains the oldest player ever to win it.

Messi has the bigger trophy haul

There is, however, one very important area where Messi has turned the tables.While Ronaldo leads the nominations count, Messi has won the Ballon d’Or more times than anyone else.The Argentine has collected the prize eight times, winning in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023.Ronaldo has won it five times.That means Messi holds the all-time record for Ballon d’Or victories, while Ronaldo remains the record-holder for nominations.The distinction is a fitting reflection of just how consistently the two players competed at the highest level throughout their careers.Their rivalry has consequently produced different historical records: Messi has the greater number of trophies and is now the oldest nominee of the modern era, while Ronaldo still has the greater number of appearances among the nominees. And even after missing the shortlist for the fourth year running, Ronaldo’s name remains at the top of that particular ranking.Also read: Why Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or despite ending 7-year trophy drought
For now, Messi is the one closing the gap. With his 17th nomination confirmed for 2026, he is now just one appearance behind Ronaldo, leaving the Portuguese star’s record within reach, even if Ronaldo is no longer adding to it himself. But that pursuit may now come to a natural end of its own. Messi announced his retirement from international duty at the end of August 2026, the second time he has walked away from Argentina after briefly doing the same in 2016.With both players now in the twilight of careers that have run in parallel for two decades, the prospect of either man adding another Ballon d’Or nomination in the years ahead looks increasingly unlikely, leaving Ronaldo’s record edge over Messi looking less like a lead about to be erased, and more like one that may simply stand.