He pretended to be Cristiano's friend and betrayed him, now he asks for the Ballon d'Or for Messi

Lionel Messi is the top winner of the Ballon d'Or with seven, but that record could be increased by the end of the year. The Argentine star was not even nominated for the last edition, which had Karim Benzema as the winner, and the controversy broke out. Months later he was the great figure of the Argentine team that won the Qatar 2022 World Cup and won the FIFA The Best award, above 'Gato' himself.

Although the delivery will take place in October, there is already an elite player who considers Messi the great favorite to win the award if he had to deliver now for what he did in the World Cup. This is Bernardo Silva, a Manchester City footballer who shares a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portugal team.

The Portuguese was interviewed by L'Equipe and did not mince words when it came to placing Leo above CR7, with all that that means taking into account the sporting rivalry that both have had for more than a decade. However, Bernardo himself warned that Erling Haaland and Vinicius are also serious candidates to keep the prize depending on the collective trophies that are achieved at the end of the season.

What player could snatch the Ballon d'Or from Messi?

Following the same line as Bernardo Silva, the Champions League has a great weight when it comes to defining the winner of the award given by France Football. Taking into account the teams that are still in the race in the 'Orejona', the only three that could choose to compete against Rosario are Erling Haaland, Vinicius and Karim Benzema. On the contrary, neither AC Milan nor Inter have such a prominent individual figure to enter the discussion.