“He is a potential Ballon d’Or winner” - Jamie Carragher’s old prediction on emulating Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi resurfaces

Jamie Carragher's claims about Raheem Sterling's Ballon d'Or credentials regarding emulating Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have resurfaced.

In 2019, when Sterling was at Manchester City, Liverpool legend Carragher had tipped his younger compatriot for Ballon d'Or success. Sterling, then 25, won the FWA Footballer of the Year that year.

“He is now in the top five or six best attacking players in the world, in that group just below Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Carragher said (as per The Telegraph via Mirror). "I wrote recently he and Sadio Mane are the best left-sided players out there. I now rate Sterling above Neymar," Carragher told The Telegraph.

“His ambition, alongside Kylian Mbappe, should be to fill the post-Messi and Ronaldo void once they retire. He is a potential Ballon d’Or winner over the next four or five years, the current upward trajectory destined to make Sterling a global superstar.

The Reds legend added:

“I would go so far as to say there is a similarity with Cristiano Ronaldo’s development at Manchester United. Sterling has different traits, yet his capacity to get on the end of opportunities means he too can be prolific."

Four years later, though, Sterling's career trajectory hasn't been what Carragher had envisaged. Having joined Chelsea in 2022, he has been a pale shadow of his City self, bagging just 15 goals and seven assists in 56 games across competitions.

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A look at Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or exploits over the years

Ronaldo (left) and Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are widely regarded as two of the best players to have graced the beautiful game. Despite being on the wrong side of 30, both are still going strong, amassing over 800 goals for club and country.

Their brilliance for various top teams in the last two decades is amply evident in their Ballon d'Or tallies. With eight and five wins respectively, Messi and Ronaldo are comfortably clear of the chasing pack.

Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or award for leading Argentina to FIFA World Cup 2022 glory in Qatar last year. The Inter Miami attacker led from the front with seven goals and three assists in seven games, also winning the competition's Golden Ball award.