Rosario Central captain, Angel Di Maria, has identified Argentina captain Lionel Messi and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo as the two players who could win the Ballon d’Or this year if they win the 2026 World Cup.
Messi and Ronaldo are set for their sixth appearance in the World Cup.
The pair have won the Ballon d’Or 13 times between themselves in the past during their playing days in Europe.
Speaking with the official website of Ballon d’Or, Di Maria insisted that both forwards could win the individual award if they play a starring role in the World Cup tournament starting next week.
“Well… It’s normal… At the end of the day, there isn’t a Messi or a Cristiano anymore; that’s over,” Di Maria said.
“For me, there won’t be a rivalry as great as that one. That’s why I think that if either of them wins the World Cup or plays a starring role, they’ve got a good chance [to win the Ballon d’Or],” he said.
Di Maria was a former teammate with Messi and Ronaldo during his time with the Argentina national team and also at Real Madrid.
