Cristiano Ronaldo has declared his rivalry with Lionel Messi “is over”.
Messi and Ronaldo won 12 Ballons d’Or between them during a 13-year streak between 2008 and 2021 – broken only by Luka Modric in 2018 and the absence of an award in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. The pair repeatedly locked horns in classic meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid in a golden age of Spanish football, as they vied for the title of being the best player in the world.
