Ronaldo dreams of retiring with more Ballon d'Ors than Messi, says France Football editor

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo and PSG's Lionel Messi seem to have formed a decade long rivalry for the history books, having won the elusive Ballon d'Or award in 11 of the 12 previous seasons the trophy was handed out in. 

The only year the two did not get their hands on the best footballer trophy was in 2018 when Luka Modric pipped the two. The Croatian won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid before leading his national side to the FIFA World Cup finals when they lost to eventual champions France.

With Ronaldo and Messi once again in the running for the Ballon d'Or, Pascal Ferre, who is the editor-in-chief of France Football, has reportedly provided some interesting news. Ferre said that the Portuguese international's only ambition now is to win more Ballon d'Ors than Messi, having won almost everything there is in the past.

As things stand, the Manchester United forward has won the individual honour on five occasions as compared to the six won by the Argentine forward.

This year, the Ballon d'Or would be handed out on November 29.

France Football editor reveals Cristiano Ronaldo's hunger to better Lionel Messi

In a conversation with the New York Times, Pascal Ferre said, "Ronaldo has only one ambition, and that is to retire with more Ballon d'Or [awards] than Messi. I know because he has told me." France Football's editor-in-chief then went on to add how they keep the Ballon d'Or an interesting secret.

"I don't want to lie [to those asking who the winner is]. But I tell them that I can't share their name because the winners do not know yet, and it would not be right for them not to be the first to find out," added Ferre. As the discussions for the Ballon d'Or award continue, Messi and Ronaldo continue to be two of the major contenders. However, one cannot rule out the incredible performances of other superstars of football.

Ballon d'Or 2021 top 10 nominees

1) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

2) Lionel Messi (PSG)

3) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

4) Jorginho (Chelsea)

5) N'golo Kante (Chelsea)

6) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

7) Ruben Dias (Manchester City)

8) Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

9) Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)

10) Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund)