Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo; This Is Not The End of Football’s Greatest Duopoly

After 10 years of dominating the World football stage, the award for the world’s best footballer of the year for the first time has been won by another player, Croatia’s Luka Modric. Surprised? Not really.

The Real Madrid midfield maestro Monday night in London beat former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool FC’s Mohammed Salah to win football’s most prestigious and coveted individual award, putting a temporary pause to Ronaldo and Messi’s ten-year dominance of the award which they both won it five times each from 2008 to 2018.

THEY WILL BE BACK

The year 2018 is neither the year Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi but be rest assured that when it is time for the 2019 edition of the awards, barring injuries, both superstars will certainly headline the occasion.

Off course, Luka Modric is currently the FIFA Best player after Real Madrid’s success in the UEFA Champions League, coupled with a fantastic performance at the 2018 world cup in Russia where he was undoubtedly the tournaments best player and also pivotal to his country’s campaign at the Mundial. But the year 2019 will be for Messi and Ronaldo, why? Every player will mostly be judged by their club performances. No one will hide under the World Cup umbrella.

Making A Case For The Duo

It is worthy of note that Lionel Messi failed to make the top three list not because he had a terrible footballing year but due to the bar he has set for the sport in general. In the 2017/2018 season, the Barcelona star scored a total of 45 goals in 54 appearances for club alone also winning the La Liga and the league season’s golden boots. That is definitely a fantastic return.

Ronaldo on his part is poised for a new challenge after joining Serie A giants, Juventus, while Messi has resumed the 2018/2019 season with a bang scoring 8 goals in 7 appearances including a UEFA Champions League hat-trick.

Yes, the duopoly has been broken but it will be difficult for any player to come close to these guys in terms of performance in 2019. Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, PSG’s Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as well as Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale are some of the likely players to pull an upset in 2019 but it is difficult to see that happening.