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#2-Competition from up and coming young players
Messi is however, only one among many players Ronaldo must compete with for the coveted Ballon d'Or title. Neymar mentioned the Ballon d'Or as his clear stated goal that prompted him to push for a move to Paris Saint-Germain and if injury had not played spoilsport, he would have had another stellar season for the French giants.
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Having played just 16 games in Ligue 1, Neymar wracked up 14 goals and 6 assists. In a season where he missed the majority of PSG's games due to a foot injury, the Brazilian dribbler also managed 5 goals and 2 assists in 6 Champions League outings and has better goals per game and assists per game ratios than Ronaldo.
Another clear competitor emerging is French wonderkid Kylian Mbappe who has had a fantastic season for French champions PSG, racking up 30 goals in Ligue 1. Coming in second to Lionel Messi in the European Golden Boot race, the 20-year-old Frenchman has enjoyed the goalscoring burden in Paris in the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani. The fact that Neymar is only 27 and Mbappe is just 20 doesnt bode well for Ronaldo's future chances at Ballon d'Or glory.
