UEFA president Michel Platini is of the opinion that the duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi can continue winning the FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the next 10 years. The duo have shared the award between themselves since 2008.
Ronaldo has become the latest recipient of the award, which is the second time he has won it during his illustrious career. Thus, he finally managed to bring an end to the dominance of Messi, who had won it four times in a row previously. Platini, though, reckons that the domination of these two players is not done yet.
He also thinks that Barcelona summer signing Neymar could be a potential candidate to break this dominance in the near future, but he does not think that the Brazilian will be able to manage it for another 10 years. Barcelona broke the bank to sign Neymar, as the latest revelations showed that the club had spent in excess of £ 100 million in trying to get him to the Camp Nou. Ribery came close to winning this year’s award after helping Bayern Munich to three major titles last season. However, the 60+ goals scored by Ronaldo in the calendar year was enough to see him win the title ahead of the Frenchman.
Platini is one of the famous players to have left this award multiple times during his playing days.
"Under the current criteria, we're heading for Messi, Cristiano, Messi, Cristiano ... for 10 years. Cristiano, Messi and Ribery would have made three magnificent Ballon d'Or winners but Ribery won everything, so I would have voted for him - and not because he is French. I could vote for [Arjen] Robben or [Bastian] Schweinsteiger. Neymar still has time to dethrone Messi even at Barcelona," said Platini, who also questioned Bayern Munich’s ability to retain the Champions League this season.
