Ballon D’or: Ronaldo Snubs Messi, Names Salah as Potential Winner

Cristiano Ronaldo has named Mohamed Salah as one of the five players who he thinks are capable of winning the Ballon d’Or this year.

The Juventus forward won the Champions League with Real Madrid earlier this year but faces strong competition to secure the sixth Ballon d’Or title of his career.

Ronaldo believes Lionel Messi will struggle to finish inside the top three and feels France’s World Cup-winning trio of Antoine Griezmann, Raphael Varane and Kylian Mbappe all have a good chance of lifting the trophy for the first time in their careers.

‘Of course I want to win, this sixth Ballon d’Or,’ Ronaldo told France Football. ‘It would be a lie to tell you the opposite.’

When asked to name his Ballon d’Or rivals, Ronaldo replied: ‘The same as usual, even if I don’t know if Messi will be on the podium this time. ‘So, let’s say Salah, Modric, Griezmann, Varane, Mbappe – the French in general because they are world champions.