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What's the story?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are always the usual suspects when it comes to individual honors like the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best Men's player, but Morgan Schneiderlin believes that as the duo failed to win major trophies last season, they might miss out on the Ballon d'Or for the second year in a row.
In case you didn't know...
FIFA recently announced the 10-man shortlist for its annual Best Men's Player award and as expected the duo of Messi and Ronaldo headline the list.
Both Messi and Ronaldo have already been recognized with individual honors in the offseason, with the Barcelona captain receiving the Best International Men's Soccer Player at the ESPY awards, while the Portuguese ace was bestowed with Marca Legend award last week.
Messi had a remarkable season with Barca, in which he bagged the Pichichi Award and European Golden Shoe after scoring 51 goals, more than anyone else in Europe. But yet another flop show with Argentina at the Copa America might've dented his odds.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, had a remarkable debut season with Juventus, he was their top scorer and even won two trophies with them, while also leading Portugal to UEFA Nations League glory.
The heart of the matter...
Though it's only August, the race for Ballon d'Or is heating up already, with predictions flying in left and right. Everton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin also joined the conversation and said that Messi and Ronaldo aren't the favorites for this year. He also hopes to see Van Dijk lifting the trophy.
He told Soccer Laduma's Shaistah Kader during Everton's recent trip to Kenya:
"This year, many people will say Virgil van Dijk now and I don't know if he is going to win because he is a centre-back. They don't win a lot of awards, but why not for him?"
"Because you have players like Cristiano Ronaldo, who didn't win a lot this year, and Lionel Messi didn’t win much either. Kylian Mbappe, maybe, because he won the World Cup?"
What's next?
Despite their age, Messi and Ronaldo remain the top two contenders for the Ballon d'Or. Will either of them lift the Golden Ball for a record sixth time this December? We'll have to wait and see.
