Sharing Era With Cristiano Ronaldo Cost Lionel Messi 7 More Ballon d’Ors, Claims Argentinean Teammate

The last 20 decades have always been about Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s rivalry. But after 18 years, people will miss Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence in the Ballon d’Or. However, it looks like the long-standing rivalry will never end. With Messi on the verge of winning his eighth trophy, Argentina’s teammate claims Lionel Messi would have won 7 more Ballon d’Ors if he hadn’t played in Ronaldo’s era.

Ronaldo, a few years ago, claimed that they motivated each other to do better. The words still stand true as both the players are still contributing hugely to both their teams. One of Argentina’s Ballon d’Or nominees stated that it was the Portuguese captain who stopped Lionel Messi from dominating the award.

Argentina’s forward states that Ronaldo stopped Lionel Messi

After Argentina’s successful campaign, the unity among Lionel Messi’s teammates became clearly evident. Each of them was ready to do anything for him to win the World Cup. Now, Lautaro Martinez, the Argentine forward, made a bold statement that Ronaldo stopped Messi from winning eight more Ballon d’Or.

Lautaro Martinez said, “He had to share this era with Cristiano Ronaldo, otherwise he would have won the Ballon d’Or 15 times.”

Regarded as one of the most remarkable individual rivalries, Martinez’s statement emphasized the profound impact they had on one another. Both together won 13 Ballon d’Or, and it does not look like it has stopped yet. Both of them are still scoring goals for their team.

Martinez himself had a great 2022-23 season. Apart from winning the World Cup, he also was the runner-up in the UEFA Champions League. The Inter Milan captain was their highest scorer in the last two seasons for his club. The player scored 28 goals and provided 11 assists for Inter Milan. Even though he was on the bench for Argentina, Martinez scored a crucial goal for La Albiceleste in the quarter-finals against the Netherlands.

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The battle between the two titans of soccer

With an astonishing tally of over 860 goals, Cristiano Ronaldo stands as the top goalscorer in the world. And for Messi to compete with him was not a straightforward task. Playing for the rival team in Spain, the two players shared 7 UEFA Champions League titles that contributed immensely to the Ballon d’Or.

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The competition between the players went on for several years, with both scoring 50 goals per season more than five times. However, it was the World Cup that probably wasn’t shared between the duo, and this became the decisive point in their careers. Taking nothing from them. Fans consider them the finest players the sport has ever seen.