I am a huge, huge follower of the wonderful, beautiful, astonishing rivalry between the two greatest athletes in modern day and possibly history. I simply cannot believe I am lucky enough to witness not only this rivalry as the greatest in any sport ever, but also between two people from my native countries, Portugal and Argentina. What are the odds, right? Anyways...

Speaking of odds, I just looked up the Ballon d'Or odds on the biggest betting websites, and it seems to have drastically turned around, yet again. From Ronaldo in 2009, to Messi in the four years after, to Ronaldo two years after, and then Messi again this year, there was a big pointing stick that Messi would dominate the rivalry for the rest of their careers, given the age difference and Barcelona's dominance. What happens? Ronaldo comes back.

The odds on Messi winning it just a month ago was so clear that anyone wouldn't really care to bet on anyone else (even Ronaldo) as it felt so likely Messi would win his 6th. Now, after Barcelona have exited from the UCL, Real Madrid have seriously come back in the La Liga title race and there's a Euro in the summer where Portugal can surely surprise and go all the way (which if they do, Ronaldo will be given the Ballon d'Or already in August, lol), the odds are in clear favor of Ronaldo, and he will probably win his 5th next year. Have a look:

http://www.oddschecker.com/football/football-specials/ballon-dor/player-of-the-year

I can't use words to describe how much I love and admire these two people who give us so much joy in the middle of our stressing daily lives. As we've said so many times before, we will probably never witness a rivalry like it again. All hail.

eh ronaldo going all the way with protugal...doubt it. If real win the champs league then yeas ronaldo will probably receive the award again. But if they don't, then Messi might have a chance, because there's a much greater possibility of Messi winning the copa america than ronaldo winning the euro. With that being said, I don't want either of them to win. Let the spotlight shine on others, maybe Aguero or Lewandowski?

If Barca gets the La Liga, and Real don't win the Champions League, we all know Messi is getting the award,
(even in my biased opinion, he is not even the best Barcelona player this year).

@Gonzi Aguero and Lewandowski are miles behind these 2..

@quikzyyy yea they are miles ahead. Aguero or Lewa could win based on if they give a good performance and win the champions league. But i don't think messi should win balon d'or even if he does win la liga, why should a la liga title be worth more than any other league title. I think it's going to come down to how either one performs for their country.

Aguero and Lewa aren't even the best players on their own teams.

If I had to name a top 10 players in the world (in no particular order) based off of a mix of this season and overall eliteness:

Ronaldo
Neymar
Messi
Lewa
De Bryune
Muller
T. Silva
Neuer
Pogba
Ozil

^if i had to list a number of players suarez is better than:

Ronaldo
Neymar
Lewa
De Bryune
Muller
T. Silva
Neuer
Pogba
Ozil

sunflash how can u not mention suarez

Because I thought I'd listed him. I knew I'd forgotten someone.

Although saying Suarez is better than Ronaldo is reaching considerably.

Isn't a bit too soon to say anything about the Ballon d'Or? I mean, even with the euro and the copa, they need to give a good performance in the first half of the next season, don't they?

Not necessarily, Messi was injured most of the fall and winter and didn't play like a Ballon d'Or winner in the Copa America and still won the thing for 2015. Using that as a metric, Ronaldo would have to suck at the Euros AND the start of next season for him not to win 2016.

The topic isn't so much about the Ballon d'Or, but more about how they keep turning it around when people don't expect it, especially Ronaldo. The winning mentality and eager to be the best is something to learn from. I just love also how it's so even, it would be boring if only one of them dominated every year, instead they keep pushing eachother.

I think they have enormous respect for one another.

Agree with emo, it's way to soon but at the moment i would go for suarez,ibra,ronaldo,lewa,aubamayang,muller and navas/Degea.

^You obviously forgot Messi.

This year, somrone else could possibly win it. Stats aside they are far from being the only contenders. Ronaldo should win CL or Euro, Messi the league AND Copa America. Suarez, Lewa, Neymar could also win it.

I genuinely don't think Lewa will win it. Neymar is not really an option either because he undergoes stretches of hot and cold form. I think the three clear contenders now are, in order, Ronaldo, Messi, Suarez. This can shift very easily depending on the outcome of this season as well as the beginning of next season (since football fans have short memories). I find Muller, K. Navas, Aguero, Ibrahimovic, and Aubameyang to also be solid choices to fill up the 4-10 spots (along with Neymar and Lewa, of course).