Three future Ballon d'Or winners named alongside Lionel Messi as Cristiano Ronaldo told his era is over

A journalist has named three future Ballon d’Or winners while claiming Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence at the top of the game is over.

Lionel Messi has been tipped to win his eighth Ballon d’Or at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France on Monday evening.

The Argentina star captained his nation to their first World Cup triumph since 1986 in Qatar, netting seven times in seven games and being named player of the tournament.

While Messi is the favourite to win the award, Erling Haaland has also made a good case to claim the title. The Norwegian scored 52 goals in all competitions as Manchester City claimed a historic treble last season.

Moreover, five-time winner Ronaldo was not included on the 30-man shortlist for the first time since 2003.

And ahead of this evening’s ceremony journalist Guillem Balague claimed that this year signalled the end of Ronaldo’s influence at the top of the game.

Balague also picked Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland as future winners of the tournament.

Speaking on CBS the journalist said: “There is a touch of glamour related to the Ballon d’Or. How do you decide who is the best?

“Yes. Individual statistics help but there is something more about Messi that for as long as he gives us so much pleasure and wins I think he should be there or thereabouts.

“Imagine for a second that he wins the MLS next season, becomes the best player in the MLS and wins the Copa America, what are the chances of him winning or almost winning the Ballon d’Or?

“This is not over yet. The era of Messi and Ronaldo is over, yes. The era of Bellingham, Mbappé, Haaland and Messi has just started."

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