Ronaldo leaves Messi far behind in vote for the greatest Ballon d'Or win in history

An official Ballon d'Or platform has opened a vote to choose the greatest winner in the award's history. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both feature among the 10 legendary footballers in the poll, and in the voting so far the Portuguese star sits well clear of his Argentine rival at the top.

Voting began in early October and will remain open until midnight Paris time on October 27. Only players who have won the trophy at least twice are eligible, and voters must pick one specific season from a winner's career.

Alongside the two modern superstars, the list includes Ronaldo Nazario, Marco van Basten, Michel Platini, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stefano.

The honours list of those legends is long. Brazil's Ronaldo was crowned in 1997 and 2002, while Dutch legend Van Basten lifted the trophy three times, in 1988, 1989 and 1992. Platini and Cruyff also won the Ballon d'Or three times each.

The most striking feature of the exercise is that each vote costs one euro. In return, voters get a fine incentive—a place in a lottery draw to win two tickets to this year's Ballon d'Or ceremony, plus the chance to download an iconic photograph of the trophy for their own collection.

Supporters may vote more than once, and can even vote repeatedly for the same winner. They can also watch live to see what share of the vote each candidate currently holds.

So far, Cristiano Ronaldo is dominating the poll by a wide margin. His 2008 Ballon d'Or-winning season holds about 62 percent of the vote. The Portuguese superstar won the trophy for the first time after a superb spell at Manchester United; it was the first of the five Ballon d'Ors of his career.

Lionel Messi's record-breaking 2012 season, by contrast, has received only 13 percent of the vote. In that calendar year Messi scored a record 91 goals in 69 matches and claimed the trophy for the fourth time in a row.

The Argentine's support, however, appears to be split across the eight Ballon d'Ors he has won. His 2023 award, won after lifting the World Cup in Qatar with Argentina, is next in popularity with 9 percent. That season he also won Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup with Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 21 goals and providing 20 assists in 41 matches.

Further down the list are Cristiano Ronaldo's 2007 win (7 percent) and his 2016 win (2 percent). No other year's triumph has crossed even the 1 percent mark, and several editions show no visible percentage at all.

Remarkably, both Messi and Ronaldo are now closing in on the milestone of 1,000 career goals. The Argentine has scored 936 goals in 1,180 matches, while the Portuguese has 981 goals in 1,340 matches.

Voting stays open until midnight on October 27. Whose Ballon d'Or triumph the fans ultimately crown as the greatest in history remains to be seen.