Days before the Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo's comparison between Messi, Maradona and Pelé

The Ballon d'Or ceremony is just around the corner. This October 30, the France Football magazine award ceremony will take place in Paris and it is a fact that Lionel Messi will win the award for the eighth time. Thus, La Pulga would stretch his record and would be three ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was left at five and was not nominated for the current edition.

Now, in the run-up, hundreds of football icons began to give their opinion on who should win the main prize and one of those who raised his voice was Ronaldo Nazario, considered by many the best center forward in history and winner of the Ballon de Gold in the years 1997 and 2002. El Fenómeno is a more than authorized voice to give his opinion on the matter, but what was surprising was that he compared Messi to Diego Maradona and Pelé when talking about his chances of winning the trophy.

“The Ballon d'Or should go to Lionel Messi, without a doubt. What he did in the World Cup was special, it reminded me of the campaigns of Pelé and Maradona,” Ronaldo said in statements to TNT Sports Brazil. It should be remembered that neither 'O Rey' nor Diego won the prestigious award in question at the time because at that time it was only awarded to players born in Europe. However, later they would be given one as recognition.

Ronaldo chooses Maradona over Pelé

When he was consulted by one or the other, Nazario was sincere: “I saw Maradona, I didn't even see Pelé, so Maradona. I have to be honest, because I didn't see almost anything of Pelé. I agree with those who say that it was the best and the greatest, but I have not seen it.”