Where are they now? The 4 players Cristiano Ronaldo named as his Ballon d’Or rivals in 2017
Cristiano Ronaldo won his fifth Ballon d’Or in 2017, but what happened to the four players who he named as his main rivals for the award that year?
CR7 was the overwhelming favourite for the Ballon d’Or in 2017 and he ultimately won it with 946 points, 276 more than the runner-up.
Prior to the award ceremony, these were the four players that Ronaldo named as his main rivals that year during an interview with ESPN.
Lionel Messi
The Argentine forward finished as the Ballon d’Or runner-up for the second consecutive year in 2017.
While Messi himself had an excellent individual season in 2016-17 where he scored 57 goals and produced 18 assists, Barcelona’s lack of silverware was costly.
He did manage to get his hands on the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana but fell short in the major competitions like La Liga and the Champions League.
It was also a historic year in 2017 as Ronaldo managed to pull level with Messi on Ballon d’Or awards with the pair each having five at the time.
However, while 2017 would prove to be Ronaldo’s final ever Ballon d’Or, Messi went on to win the award in 2019, 2021 and 2023 to pull further ahead.
Now playing out in MLS for Inter Miami, we can’t see him adding another to his collection, but he’s still performing at an incredibly high standard. We can’t wait to see what he has in store for us in 2025.
Neymar
Collecting 361 points in 2017, Neymar finished third in the Ballon d’Or for the second time in his career.
Like Messi, the Brazilian had an excellent individual season, but the lack of major trophies meant that he was never going to finish above Ronaldo.
During his final season at Barcelona, the Brazilian produced 46 goal contributions in just 45 appearances, averaging a goal or assist every 86.3 minutes.
Unfortunately, 2017 proved to be the final time that Neymar ever received a podium finish in the Ballon d’Or as he’s not been able to crack the top three since.
Having barely kicked a ball over the last 18 months since joining Al-Hilal, we can’t see the 32-year-old competing for another Ballon d’Or, especially since his manager Jorge Jesus said that his career at the top level could now be over.
“He can no longer play at the level we’re used to,” Jesus said in a recent press conference.
“Things have become difficult for him, unfortunately. He is still under contract and it may be up to him to decide his future.”
Now being heavily linked with a return to Santos, the Brazilian could be on the move this month.
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Robert Lewandowski
The Polish forward finished ninth in the 2017 Ballon d’Or, having collected 45 points that year.
Bayern Munich won the league and DFL-Supercup in 2016-17, largely thanks to the 43 goals that Lewandowski scored.
It still seems unfair that he’s never technically won a Ballon d’Or, despite being the overwhelming favourite in 2020 that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, unlike the other players on this list, the 36-year-old is still going strong in Europe today.
With 28 goals in 29 appearances for Barcelona in 2024-25, Lewandowski is currently among the top contenders for the 2025 award.
If Barcelona manage to win La Liga and go far in the Champions League, it could finally be his year. Watch this space.
READ: 2025 Ballon d’Or power rankings: Who can challenge Mohamed Salah this year?
Gonzalo Higuain
Despite being named by Ronaldo as one of his main competitors for the Ballon d’Or, Higuain didn’t even finish in the top 30 in 2017, despite having an excellent season.
Having moved from Napoli to Juventus, the Argentine forward hit the ground running at the Allianz Stadium and scored 32 goals to fire Juve to the Serie A title and Coppa Italia.
Juventus also made it to the Champions League final that year, but they ultimately fell short to Ronaldo and Real Madrid at the final hurdle.
While his fellow teammates Gianluigi Buffon, Paulo Dybala and Leonardo Bonucci were all nominated for the 2017 award, Higuain was snubbed despite being the club’s top scorer.
The 37-year-old went on to play professionally until 2022 when he called it quits on his career after a few years in MLS with Inter Miami.