Sir Alex Ferguson backs Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or | OneFootball

The Ballon d’Or is just around the corner, meaning that much of the discourse in European football has turned to which footballer deserves the game’s greatest individual prize.

As ever, public perception over who should be named the world’s greatest player has changed as the year has progressed.

As we enter the autumn of 2021, however, several names have stayed the course; Lionel Messi, Jorginho, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi won the Copa del Rey with Barcelona and the Copa America with Argentina before leaving Spain for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. Cristiano became the all-time top scorer in the history of international football through his exploits with Portugal.

Benzema – arguably the most in-form player in European football right now – has been superb for Real Madrid and helped France beat La Roja to win the Nations League this past weekend.

Jorginho won both the Champions League with Chelsea and Euro 2020 with Italy, while Lewandowski has been ruthlessly consistent for the all-conquering Bayern Munich. It’s a tight race.

For Sir Alex Ferguson, however, it’s Cristiano who should win his sixth Ballon d’Or. The Portuguese re-joined Manchester United this summer after eleven years away from Old Trafford in La Liga with Madrid and Serie A with Juventus.

“Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the Ballon d’Or,” Ferguson said as carried by Marca. “This year he’s broken record after record.”