Lionel Messi nominated for special football award rival Cristiano Ronaldo won in 2020
Argentine great Lionel Messi has been nominated for the prestigious ten-man Golden Foot award for 2024 which was won by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2020. The award is given to players beyond the age of 28 who are still playing at the highest level.
Lionel Messi is the most decorated player of all time, having won 46 major trophies in his illustrious career. He could be close to winning his 47th career trophy with Inter Miami chasing the MLS Cup.
Messi has also won countless individual honors in his career, including a record eight Ballon d'Ors. However, he is yet to win the Golden Foot award although his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo won it in 2020.
The Golden Foot award can be won by a player only once in his career but aged 37, Lionel Messi does not have too much time in his hands. The World Cup-winning Argentine superstar has been named in the ten-man shortlist but will face strong competition.
Harry Kane, Neymar, Kevin De Bruyne, Virgil van Dijk, Thomas Muller, Karim Benzema, Lautaro Martinez, Antoine Griezmann and Marco Verratti are the other nine nominees. The award was first presented in 2003 with Roberto Baggio being the inaugural winner.
Football greats like Pavel Nedved, Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Alessandro Del Piero, and Roberto Carlos were all presented the prestigious award. In recent years, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Mohamed Salah, Edinson Cavani, Robert Lewandowski have previously been awarded the Golden Foot.
When former Chelsea midfielder picked between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in ‘GOAT’ debate
Chelsea great Michael Essien picked Cristiano Ronaldo over his rival Lionel Messi as the most complete player of all time. The former Ghana international, who spent a brief period as Ronaldo's teammate at Real Madrid, hailed the all-round ability of the Portuguese supestar.
Essien shared the pitch with Ronaldo on just 30 occasions during his brief stint at Real Madrid on loan from Chelsea in 2012-13. He also faced Lionel Messi eight times in his career and never ended up on the losing side, winning thrice and drawing the other five games.
On being asked to pick between the two, Essien admitted that Messi might be the best but Ronaldo is more complete. He told Copa 90 USA:
"He's the best [Messi] but when you compare him and Ronaldo, for me, Ronaldo is a complete player. Messi is talented but he's only left-footed. Ronaldo can jump, shoot, left, right."
Essien was one of the best midfielders in the world during his peak years at Chelsea. He joined the Blues in 2005 from Lyon and went on to make 256 appearances for the west London outfit, winning nine trophies in the process.
Essien spent the best years of his career at Chelsea joining the west London giants in 2005 from Lyon. He made 256 appearances for the Blues scoring 25 times while producing 20 assists and helped them secure nine trophies.
