Left Off Ballon d'Or Shortlist for Four Consecutive Years, Cristiano Ronaldo Still Holds a Record Lionel Messi Has Not Surpassed

For the fourth consecutive year, Cristiano Ronaldo has missed the Ballon d'Or shortlist, but he still leads Lionel Messi in one major historical Ballon d'Or statistic. Messi has returned to the 2026 Ballon d'Or shortlist, but this has not changed Ronaldo's record for the number of Ballon d'Or nominations.

Ronaldo Still Leads Messi by One Nomination

France Football has announced the 30-player shortlist for the 2026 Ballon d'Or, with Messi included. According to Spanish newspaper AS, this selection brings Messi's career total of Ballon d'Or nominations to 17, ranking second all-time. Ronaldo remains in first place with 18 nominations.

Notably, Ronaldo has not been included on the shortlist since 2022. His first nomination came in 2004, after which he was included in the initial Ballon d'Or candidate pool for 18 consecutive years, through 2022.

Of his 18 nominations, Ronaldo has won the award five times: he first won in 2008 while playing for Manchester United, when the team won the Premier League and Champions League; he won again in 2013 while playing for Real Madrid, scoring 69 goals that year; in 2014, he won the award again with Real Madrid and broke the record for goals in a single Champions League season; in 2016, he won while playing for Real Madrid, helping the club win the Champions League and Portugal win the European Championship; and in 2017, he won the award for a fifth time with Real Madrid, drawing level with Messi's number of wins at the time.