"They could make a Ballon d'Or only for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi" - When Sergio Ramos claimed iconic duo deserved separate award

Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos joked in 2019 that they should create a separate Ballon d'Or for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, along with one for the other players. He claimed that it would be better for football as others will also compete for the top award.

Speaking to TUDN, Ramos said that he wanted to see two different awards for the best individual player of the season. He did not see anyone else winning the Ballon d'Or after Messi and Ronaldo won 10 of the 11 awards and said (via Marca):

"They could make a Ballon d’Or only for Cristiano and Messi. Then there could be another for the rest. In the end it'd be better for football."

The comment from Ramos came just months after Ronaldo claimed that he wanted to win more Ballon d'Ors than Messi. The Portuguese superstar believed that he deserved more awards than his Argentine counterpart and told Piers Morgan (via Reuters)

"Messi's in the history of football. But I think I have to have six or seven or eight to be above him. I'd love it, I think I deserve it. My relationship with him is, we are not friends, but we have shared this stage for 15 years. I know that he has pushed me to be a better player and I have pushed him to be a better player as well."

Cristiano Ronaldo last won the Ballon d'Or in 2017, while Lionel Messi has gone on to win three more. The Argentine has eight awards to his name, while the Portuguese superstar has five.

Cristiano Ronaldo winning 5th Ballon d'Or hurt, admitted Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi spoke to France Football in 2019 and admitted that Cristiano Ronaldo getting level with him for the Ballon d'Or hurt. He wanted to be the player with the most individual awards and said (via Marca):

"When Cristiano pulled level with me, I'll admit that it hurt a little as I was no longer alone at the top. But, at that moment he deserved the Ballon d’Or and I couldn't do much more about it. I understand why I didn't win, as we hadn't won the UEFA Champions League and winning that competition gives you a better chance of winning the Ballon d’Or. When Cristiano was winning all the [individual] trophies it was because he'd had really good seasons and had been winning the Champions League, being decisive as his team did so."

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have not made it to the Ballon d’Or top 30 in the last two years.