Cristiano Ronaldo Has Never Voted For Lionel Messi In 'The Best' Or Ballon d'Or Awards

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi picked up a record sixth FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year award on Monday night, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk to the prestigious title.

It was a deserved victory for the 32-year-old, who scored 54 goals in 58 games for club and country last season compared to Cristiano Ronaldo's 31 in 47.

Image: PA

Following the award ceremony in Milan, the full list of voting was revealed, highlighting that Lionel Messi had voted for Liverpool's Sadio Mane as his number one choice.

Messi also placed long term rival Cristiano Ronaldo in second and teammate Frenkie de Jong in third.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, gave new Juventus teammate Matthijs de Ligt his top pick, with former Ajax midfielder De Jong second and PSG forward Kylian Mbappe third.

None of the 34-year-old's likely rivals featured in his top three, a regular trend in his voting patterns down the years.

As you can see in the above graphic, Ronaldo has often voted for current teammates in either The Best or Ballon d'Or awards.

The former Real Madrid forward decided to pick Champions League and World Cup winner Rafael Varane in last year's FIFA Best awards, while Messi voted for eventual winner Luka Modric.

But one particular trend is clear - Ronaldo has never voted for Lionel Messi, while the Argentinian delivered twice in 2018 and 2019.

The Barcelona forward failed to get in the top three for either award last year but things have certainly changed this time around.

If you're interested, here is the full list of voting from captain's of every country.

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year voting. Image: FIFA

Thoughts on the Ronaldo/Messi debate?

Let us know in the comments.

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

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

@jackkenmare_