“The Influence Mario Balotelli Had on Messi and Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or Dominance”

The Ballon d’Or won by Karim Benzema last fall will probably not mark the end of an era. Like Luka Modric, titled in 2018, the Frenchman has however put an end to the hegemony of the Messi-Ronaldo duo on the trophy awarded by France Football. But it should resume next year.

Despite PSG’s struggles this season, Lionel Messi is indeed the big favorite to win another Ballon d’Or. Consequence of the coronation of Argentina at the World Cup. Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema, absent in Qatar and very prominent in recent weeks in the Champions League, have certainly not said their last word but the Parisian playmaker has the favor of the forecasts for the time being.

I only spoke at 20% of my potential

In the event of a new coronation, the native of Rosario would win his eighth personal Ballon d’Or and would distance himself a little further from Cristiano Ronaldo, the second most successful player in history with five Ballon d’Ors. But according to Mario Balotelli, the two men can thank him well. “My agent Mino Raiola, who I miss a lot, used to say that Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo win the Ballon d’Or every year because I only express myself at 20% of my potential. And he was right.”thus launched the Italian international, on the Muschio Selvaggio podcast.

Mario Balotello, however, only appeared once in the Ballon d’Or classification. In 2012, with a modest 23rd place and only 0.07% of the vote. Lionel Messi won the trophy with 41.6% of the vote ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who won 23.68 of the vote.