​Argentina legend Diego Maradona has rather sensationally claimed that had he been eligible, he would have won more Ballons d’Or during his playing career than either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. 

The 57-year-old, who is currently the manager of United Arab Emirates side Al Fujairah, could not be held in contention for the prize in his day, as (up until rule changes in 1995) only European players were able to get their hands on the highly-coveted accolade. 

This meant the former Barcelona and Napoli attacker, who is considered one of the greatest players of all time, was unable to be awarded the trophy.

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated in recent years, holding 10 between them following the Real Madrid man’s most recent success earlier this month. 

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However, had he been eligible for the Ballon d’Or, the ever-outspoken Maradona has insisted he would have secured more than both La Liga stars. 

“Ballon d’Or? As a trophy…It’s very difficult to give just one Ballon d’Or to a player. Because giving one to Cristiano and to Messi…it’s boring now,” he told ​AS.

“Who else deserves it? Maybe [Edinson] Cavani, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, but I don’t know. There were more [contenders] before.

When asked about the ineligibility rules in place during his playing career, Maradona replied: “No, no…I’d have more than Ronaldo and Messi.”

The Argentine also rebuffed Ronaldo’s recent claims that he is the best player the world has ever seen, but did reveal some admiration for the Real Madrid star.  

“Ronaldo said he is the best ever? Tell him to stop talking nonsense!” added the 1986 World Cup winner.

“The best? For me…From what little I saw of them, Alfredo Di Stéfano, [Johan] Cruyff…and Messi, but it can be Cristiano too.

“Another thing that I like about Cristiano Ronaldo is that when the team need him, he delivers. There haven’t been many players since Cruyff with that quality.”


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