Lionel Messi 'frontrunner' to finally land elusive prize Cristiano Ronaldo has already won after huge change to rare award

Lionel Messi could be set to add an elusive trophy to his collection to join Cristiano Ronaldo in an exclusive club of winners.

Messi and Ronaldo are widely regarded as the two greatest players of the 21st century and their trophy hauls as well as their statistics are regularly compared as fans debate which legendary player is superior.

October will be a historic month with neither player nominated for the annual Ballon d’Or award, the first time in 21 years such a feat has happened having shared the prize 13 times between them.

Ronaldo does currently have one trophy in his cabinet that Messi has never won but that could be about to change.

The Golden Foot award was created in 2003 to recognise legends of the game who are still performing at the highest level during the later stages of their careers. Only players over the age of 28 are eligible and it’s a trophy Messi has never won.

Ronaldo won the award back in 2020 with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah winning one year later and Robert Lewandowski being crowned back in 2022.

After a one year break, the award is back and Messi is believed to be the frontrunner to finally capture the trophy that has eluded him.

For the first time, there will be no public voting with a panel of professionals instead voting on who will be this year’s winner. No player who has won the award in the past is eligible.

Cristiano Ronaldo with his Golden Foot award in 2020 (Getty)

As well as receiving the Golden Foot trophy, the winner will also get to leave a permanent mould of their footprints on the seafront of Monaco named The Champions Promenade.

Messi has been overlooked in the past by the likes of Luka Modric and Edinson Cavani and faces competition from Man City star Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk to win this year’s award.

2024 Golden Foot nominees: Marco Verratti (Al-Arabi), Lionel Messi (Miami FC), Neymar Jr. (Al-Hilal), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), and Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City).