3 players who could pip Lionel Messi to the Ballon d'Or award this year

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo had a successful year at club and international levels

There are a lot of football fans who will agree that the Portuguese has as much chance as any other player - Messi included - to claim the prestigious Ballon d'Or award this year.

The 34-year-old won the award for the Most Valuable Player in Serie A last season after finding the back of the net a whopping 21 times and setting up another 8 in 31 appearances in the division. He also won the Top Scorer award in the Nations League, and was highly influential as Portugal ran riot on their way to claiming the inaugural tournament.

At the domestic level with Juventus, the Portuguese won the Serie A and the Supercoppa d'Italiano. Along the way, he scored a lot of goals including a hat-trick to dump Atletico Madrid out of the Champions League. So, as long as Ronaldo is still among the nominees for the award, Messi should continue to watch his back.