Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will not win the Ballon d'Or this year; read why

Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious award for an individual player in football, has been called off this year due to breaks in tournaments across Europe owing to the coronavirus pandemic. France football on July 20 announced that the award will not be awarded this season 'due to lack of sufficient fair conditions'. This is the first time in its 64-year-old history, since its inception in 1956, that the golden ball trophy will not be awarded to any footballer. 

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The coveted award is one of the oldest awards of its kind and is presented by French news magazine France Football. The awarded is presented on an individual's previous year performance, based on voting by journalists, coaches, captains of national teams. Lionel Messi of Argentina, who plays for Barcelona in the Spanish league is the current holder of the award and also the player to win it the most number of times, a record six awards in total. Messi is also the only player to win the award for four consecutive years from 2009 to 2012.

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Total domination

For the past 12 years, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated world football with an astonishing 11 Ballon d'Ors  and 12 nominations between them. That's 11 in 12 years with only Luka Modric being able to break the chain thanks to his run to the World Cup final along with a Champions League win with Real Madrid. Meanwhile, football across Europe has started with no live audiences allowed for now as a precautionary measure due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

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