Lionel Messi has created another piece of Ballon d’Or history at the age of 39. He has broken a record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has become the first player ever to span 20 years between his first and most recent nomination for the prestigious award. His inclusion on the 2026 Ballon d’Or shortlist means his story with the award now stretches from 2006 to 2026. No player before him had managed to remain a nominee across such a long period.
Messi first appeared among the Ballon d’Or nominees in 2006. At that time, he was still a teenage Barcelona player. He received two votes that year. Twenty years later, he is still on the list. His nomination for 2026 takes his career total to 17 Ballon d’Or nominations. This puts him second behind Ronaldo for the overall number of appearances on the shortlist. However, Messi now has something his rival never achieved. He holds the record for the longest span between a player’s first and latest nominations. Ronaldo previously held that record after appearing on the shortlist from 2004 to 2022, a span of 18 years.
The all-time list for the longest span now has Messi at the top. Ronaldo follows with 18 years. Luka Modric has 16 years, Karim Benzema has 15, and Paolo Maldini has 14. Ronaldo still leads Messi for the total number of nominations. He has 18 to Messi’s 17. However, Messi has now surpassed him for longevity. At 39, Messi is now the oldest player to be nominated in the 21st century. He has surpassed Ronaldo’s previous mark of 37 when he was nominated in 2022. The all-time record remains with Stanley Matthews. He was 41 when he won the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956.
Messi’s first nomination was only the beginning of his relationship with the award. He has since won the Ballon d’Or a record eight times. His victories came in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023. Ronaldo remains second with five wins. The two players have dominated the award to an extent no other players have matched. They are the only two players to have won the Ballon d’Or more than once this century.
Ronaldo still has more total nominations, with 18 to 17. Messi now owns the record for the longest period between first and latest nomination. Messi has managed to set that record despite spending the final stages of his career outside Europe’s traditional football powerhouses. He is the only active MLS player included on the 2026 men’s shortlist.
His nomination comes after another major international campaign with Argentina. Messi helped Argentina reach the 2026 World Cup final. He scored eight goals and provided four assists during the tournament. He also briefly became the all-time leading World Cup scorer with 21 goals before Kylian Mbappe overtook him. He had also announced his international retirement last month. This makes his continued presence on the Ballon d’Or shortlist even more striking.
Cristiano Ronaldo Still Retains Ballon d’Or Nomination Record
Ronaldo may have missed the Ballon d’Or shortlist for a fourth consecutive year. However, he remains ahead of Messi for the most Ballon d’Or nominations. The shortlist has brought the two rivals back into the same conversation.
France Football has revealed the final list of 30 nominees for the 2026 Ballon dOr. Messi has been included after another impressive campaign for club and country. His inclusion takes his career total to 17 Ballon d’Or nominations. This leaves him second on the all-time list. Ronaldo remains out in front with 18 nominations. This is particularly notable given that Ronaldo has not appeared on the shortlist since 2022.
Ronaldo holds the all-time record with 18 Ballon dOr nominations. His first came in 2004. He then appeared among the award’s initial contenders for 18 consecutive years. This extraordinary run lasted until 2022. Out of those 18 nominations, he won the trophy five times. His victory years include 2008 with Manchester United. He won again in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 with Real Madrid.
Paolo Maldini sits third with 13 nominations. Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, and Karim Benzema have each been nominated 12 times. Just behind them are Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gianluigi Buffon, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, and Eusebio. They have all made the shortlist 11 times. Ronaldo’s 18 appearances and Messi’s 17 put them comfortably clear of every other player in the history of the award.
His club form backed up his international performance as well. In the 2026 MLS season with Inter Miami, Messi has recorded 18 goals and 10 assists in 20 appearances. He continues to produce at an elite level. Between a World Cup final run and a productive MLS campaign, Messi’s case for a 17th nomination was built on two fronts.
FAQs
Q. How many Ballon d’Or nominations does Lionel Messi have?
A. Messi has received 17 Ballon d’Or nominations.
Q. What Ballon d’Or record did Messi break in 2026?
A. Messi set the record for the longest nomination span at 20 years.
Q. How many Ballon d’Or awards has Messi won?
A. Messi has won the Ballon d’Or eight times.
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