Messi and Ronaldo named among nominees for "Ballon d'Or of All Time"
France Football has launched the voting process for a new award. According to media reports, participation in it is paid.
Messi and Ronaldo among the nominees for the "Ballon d’Or of All Time"
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been included in the list of nominees for the newly established "Ballon d’Or of All Time" (B.O.A.T.) award.
The list of contenders was announced on October 20. Besides the Portuguese and the Argentine, it also includes Alfredo Di Stéfano (Spain), Johan Cruyff (Netherlands), Franz Beckenbauer (Germany), Kevin Keegan (England), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany), Michel Platini (France), Marco van Basten (Netherlands), and Brazil's Ronaldo.
According to France Football's criteria, only players who have won the Ballon d'Or at least twice are eligible for the new award. For this reason, Pelé and Diego Maradona are not on the list. This is cited to be because until 1995, the award was presented only to European footballers.
There are ten footballers in total on the list. Messi has eight Ballons d'Or to his name, while Ronaldo has five. Beckenbauer, Platini, Cruyff, van Basten, and others have won the award two or three times each.
It is noted that the winner of the award will be determined through a fan vote. According to fans, it costs 1 euro to cast each vote. In exchange for the cast vote, the participant will receive a high-quality digital photograph of the Ballon d'Or winner. Additionally, two tickets to the 2027 award ceremony will be raffled off among voters.