Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ultimate Ballon d’Or poll has one clear winner

There was a specific criteria to make the ultimate Ballon d'Or shortlist, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both included.

Cristiano Ronaldo is dominating a new poll to crown the ultimate Ballon d'Or winner, with Lionel Messi flagging behind.

The 2026 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced next Monday in London, with Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappe and Rodri all leading contenders to pick up the gong.

Leading football journalist will have their say on who should be crowned the best player in the world but there is also a different Ballon d'Or related award which fans are able to decide.

The official Ballon d'Or website announced voting on a brand new prize earlier this month, calling it the B.O.A.T (Ballon d'Or Of All Time).

Players on the shortlist had to have won the Ballon d'Or at least twice, ruling out a plethora of stars who were victorious on one occasion.

But among the household names were Messi and Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazario, Marco van Basten, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Johan Cruyff, Kevin Keegan, Alfredo Di Stefano and Franz Beckenbauer.

READ MORE: What happened to the 15 players that Lionel Messi tipped for greatness in 2020?

Instead of focusing on the player's achievements throughout their career, the vote is related to an individual season.

There are therefore eight opportunities to vote for Messi and five to vote for Ronaldo, who first won the Ballon d'Or in 2008 at Manchester United.

And it is that very version of Ronaldo which is leading the way comfortably with 62 per cent of the votes.

Messi's 2012, where he scored a record 91 goals, is second with 7 per cent – with his 2023 win accruing 10 per cent of votes.

Ronaldo's 2017 triumph amassed seven per cent and his feats in the previous year received two per cent of voting.

Multiple votes are allowed but those doing so must pay €1 every time – with each individual entry giving them the opportunity to win two tickets for next year's Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Voting closes on October 27 before the results are officially announced the following day.

Ronaldo looks nailed on to end up being crowned the winner for his exploits back in 2008, the first of his five Ballon d'Ors.

He was comfortably the best player in the world and fired Manchester United to a Premier League and Champions League double.

READ NEXT: Every player who would've won the Ballon d'Or if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never existed

The Portuguese superstar exploded into a phenomenon with 42 goals in 49 appearances – including 31 in the Premier League to collect his first Golden Boot.

Averaging 0.86 goals per game, he won the European Golden Shoe as well as both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year.

Ronaldo accrued 446 points to win his maiden Ballon d'Or, finishing 165 points ahead of Messi.

Fernando Torres took the final spot on the podium, having ended up on 179 points.

Ronaldo went on to score 26 goals in his next season, earning a then-world record £80 million move to Real Madrid following United's defeat to Barcelona in the 2009 Champions League final.

Lionel Messi – (2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2019)

Cristiano Ronaldo – (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)

Topics: Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo

Josh is a journalist at SPORTbible, covering football and WWE. He provides regular coverage of professional wrestling, interviewing the biggest names and covering events like WrestleMania. He also specialises in Sunday League football content and went undercover in a game packed by ex Premier League stars. He has been published by Manchester City, The Mirror, Manchester Evening News and Shoot! magazine, where he provided regular columns on the England national team.

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