Ballon d’Or: List of every player Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo voted in favour of winning award since 2010

The 2023 Ballon d'Or award ceremony is here upon us. Lionel Messi and his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo are back in the spotlight even though the latter isn't in the race this year.

As two players who have had the fiercest rivalry in the history of the award and dominated it for the longest period, it's understandable why the attention is falling back on them.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remain the most influential names the Ballon d'Or has ever had. The duo have pulled more votes and scored more points than anybody else, but it doesn't end there.

What's more interesting is that the two superstars have also had the opportunity over the years to vote for other players in the race for the accolade. Their picks have been nothing short of interesting.

Before proceeding, it is important to recall that the organizers of the Ballon d'Or, France Football, reached an agreement with FIFA to merge their award with the latter's World Player of The Year award in 2010, and it was called the FIFA Ballon d'Or.

Under this setup, national team captains, coaches and members of the media were allowed to vote. Hence, Messi and Ronaldo were eligible to vote as captains of their respective national teams.

However, this agreement only lasted five years, as it was discontinued in 2015. Following the split, France Football returned to restricting the Ballon d'Or voting process to only journalists while FIFA continues to allow national team captains and coaches in theirs, which has been rebranded and renamed the FIFA 'The Best' award.

The implication is that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo participated in the voting process for the FIFA Ballon d'Or (the merged one). However, following the 2015 split, they're now only able to vote in the FIFA The Best award and not the Ballon d'Or.

On that note, let's see who the two legends have cast their votes for in the race for the coveted accolades over the years.

Note: the names appear in the first, second and third order of the three-man finalists, as provided by SportBible.

Lionel Messi's votes

Ballon d'Or

2010: Didn't vote

2011: Xavi, Iniesta, Aguero

2012: Iniesta, Xavi, Aguero

2013: Iniesta, Xavi, Neymar

2014: Di Maria, Iniesta, Mascherano

2015: Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta

FIFA 'The Best'

2016: Suarez, Neymar, Iniesta

2017: Suarez, Iniesta, Neymar

2018: Modric, Mbappe, Ronaldo

2019: Mane, Ronaldo, De Jong

2020: Neymar, Mbappe, Lewandowski

2021: Neymar, Mbappe, Benzema

Cristiano Ronaldo awards voting

Ballon d'Or

2010: Xavi, Casillas, Sneijder

2011: Did not vote

2012: Did not vote

2013: Falcao, Bale, Ozil

2014: Ramos, Bale, Benzema

2015: Benzema James, Bale

FIFA's 'The Best'

2016: Bale, Modric, Ramos

2017: Modric, Ramos, Marcelo

2018: Varane, Modric, Griezmann

2019: De Ligt, De Jong, Mbappe

2020: Lewandowski, Messi, Mbappe

2021: Lewandowski, Kante, Jorginho

2022: Did not vote

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's Ballon d'Or voting history - analysis and observations

From the above list, it's evident that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo prioritize voting for their teammates.

On the Argentine's list, only Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric and Ronaldo never played alongside him, while the Portuguese has the likes of Xavi Hernandez, Jorginho, Ngolo Kante, Wesley Sneijder, Radamel Falcao and Lewandowski as non-teammates.

Moreover, it's obvious that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have rarely voted for each other in the Ballon d'Or/FIFA The Best award race. The Argentine has voted for his eternal rival just twice (2018 and 2019) while the Portuguese has only done so once (2020).

The 2023 Ballon d'Or results will be announced in the coming hours. Messi is expected to claim the accolade for a record-extending eighth time after leading his country to World Cup success last year.