Move over Messi and Ronaldo. A new generation of football stars are lining up to win the Ballon d’Or

MANCHESTER, England – No Lionel Messi. Not Cristiano Ronaldo.

When the Ballon d’Or is presented at a gala ceremony in Paris on Monday, it will feel like the start of a new era in football. There’s also a sense of emptiness now that one of the sport’s most riveting rivalries is arguably over.

“It’s interesting that as it starts to come to an end, we kind of say, what’s the next equivalent rivalry going to be,” soccer writer Jonathan Wilson told The Associated Press. “As if this kind of rivalry is a natural state. But there’s never been a rivalry like this before.”

Messi and Ronaldo have won football’s most prestigious individual award 13 times in an unprecedented 16-year period of dominance. Neither was nominated this year.

Instead, Real Madrid international Vinicius Junior is the favorite to be crowned the world’s best player and become the first winner born this century.

He underlined his credentials this week with a stunning hat trick in the Champions League against Borussia Dortmund.

“Vinicius had an incredible season where he was a key player … he proved he is the best player in the world,” said Madrid team-mate Lucas Vazquez.

But rather than Vinicius ushering in a new era of dominance, it looks like the award will harken back to a time before Messi and Ronaldo, when multiple winners were relatively rare.

France’s great Zinedine Zidane, for example, won just once. The same goes for Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Luis Figo and George Best. Initially limited to European players, it was never won by Pele or Diego Maradona.

Before Messi, the last player to win back-to-back awards was Dutch striker Marco van Basten in 1988 and ’89.

Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or last year after leading Argentina to triumph at the 2022 World Cup. Wilson, who wrote about the history of Argentine football in his book Angels With Dirty Faces, sees no obvious successor for the great Barcelona, ​​now at Inter Miami.

“Messi has been phenomenal for 17, 18 years,” he said. “It’s not a pure counting process, but in terms of long-term greatness, Messi is the greatest ever by some margin.

“I don’t think there’s anyone in the world right now who has anything close to that talent.”

Such was the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo, not only would Vinicius Junior become the first winner born in this century, but there wasn’t even a recipient born in the 90s.

Vinicius Junior, whose goals helped Madrid to a record 15th European Cup last season, is part of a new generation of stars blossoming as Messi and Ronaldo arrive in the final stages of their careers.

Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal make up a field of contenders that could challenge for years to come.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri is second favorite to win this year and would become the first player born in the 90s to receive the award.

Mbappe, who has long been seen as the heir apparent to Messi and Ronaldo as the best player in the world, was born in 1998, meaning there is likely to be a winner from that decade eventually, even if Rodri will be missed.

The only other winners since Ronaldo won the first Ballon d’Or in 2008 were Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema in 2022. Both were born in the 1980s.

The award was canceled in 2020 when Robert Lewandowski was named the best player that year. He was also born in the 80s.

Neymar, born in 1992, came third twice.

The Ballon d’Or was created by France Football magazine and has been awarded since 1956. It is voted for by journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking.

Each journalist, one per country, selects 10 players in ranking order, with points assigned to each position. The winner is the player who gets the most points.

The dominance of Messi and Ronaldo in the age of social media has raised the profile of the prize.

Players talk about their dream of winning it in a way they would have talked about the Champions League and World Cup in the past.

The potential to win is used during transfer negotiations, with clauses added to contracts stipulating that a buying club will pay extra if a player is crowned the best player in the world.

While Vinicius seems to be in pole position this year, Mbappe vs. Haaland has the potential to develop into a new rivalry for the prize – especially considering they are strikers for Madrid and Manchester City respectively, the two best teams in Europe in recent years. .

“The whole idea of ​​rivalries and head-to-head, one-on-one is such a big part of soccer now,” soccer writer Matt Oldfield told The Associated Press. “People want to be able to simplify it to one-v-one and I think the Mbappe-Haaland debate will be the main one.”

Oldfield writes children’s books about football and, on visits to schools, assesses the popularity of players among young fans.

His latest series is called “The Football GOAT (Greatest of All Time)”.

The first book in the series centered around Messi and Ronaldo. Next is about Mbappe and Haaland: “Now we’re going beyond Messi and Ronaldo,” he said.

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James Robson is at