So he left, by United's choosing, but it was one of the best things to happen to his career. Now he is out-performing two of the greatest ever to play the game in Ronaldo and Messi. "I was 22 years old. Mourinho managed Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid, during his three-year stint with Los Blancos, when he managed to win a La Liga title. The Brazil international beat out Marc-Andre ter Stegen of Barcelona and countryman Ederson of Manchester City. The 3-man shortlist has now been revealed for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or award and for the 7th time in 8 years, Messi and Ronaldo make up 2 thirds of it; the only blip courtesy of Ronaldo in 2010 who missed out thanks to Iniesta and Xavi, both World Cup winners that year with Spain. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. Lukaku's penalty against England at Wembley, in what transpired to be a 2-1 defeat by Gareth Southgate's side, was his 53rd goal for Belgium in 86 games. The Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation: [balɔ̃ dɔʁ]; "Golden Ball") is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football that is one of the oldest and generally regarded as the most prestigious individual award for football players. The Portuguese manager said that Messi and Ronaldo had set the bar so high, it should act as motivation for youngsters. Solskjaer even pushed him out wide, gave him little backing as the go-to guy, like Martinez and Inter boss Antonio Conte do with such consistency now. The table in question is goals-per-game ratio at international level and neither Ronaldo or Messi - who have 11 Ballon d'Or awards between them - can keep up with Lukaku. "I realize that I'm lucky even if one day it will be time to retire. Mourinho chose to praise both Ronaldo and Messi, in an interview to RT, saying that each one got extra motivation from the excellence of the other. Lukaku often looked laboured during the end at United, that was the big criticism. Jose Mourinho refused to pick either Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi as the best. He scored 36 times last season en route to a 10th Spanish Liga title, and was the Champions League top scorer. Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. What's wrong with the giants? Messi … Messi tops Ronaldo, wins sixth Ballon d'Or award, Mbappe leads France over Croatia in WC rematch, USMNT's McKennie tests positive for COVID-19, 'Project Big Picture' rejected by Premier League, Jota brace as Portugal win despite no Ronaldo, Ronaldo returns to Italy to finish COVID isolation, Maguire exits early as England lose to Denmark, Bayern's U.S. starlet Richards suffers injury, Look out Champions League, here comes the USMNT. We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. Messi, for all his sheer brilliance, has always fallen short for Argentina. Liverpool forward Sadio Mane finished fourth behind Ronaldo in … Questions over his weight overshadowed his efforts and he was playing a lone striker role that hung him out to dry. Man United, Man City, Bayern and Liverpool all look vulnerable. And yet he lost his way. In fact, it was during Mourinho's time in Madrid that the rivalry between Ronaldo and Messi blossomed, with the Portuguese manager also pitting his wits against Pep Guardiola. Aguero, Messi among top free agents in 2021, Window recap: Mou, USMNT up; Messi, Man Utd down, Man United's transfer window, no Sancho and no new central defender have fans expecting the worst, South America's World Cup qualifiers deliver despite conflict and coronavirus, Sock it to me! Against England he was back to the centre-back bully he showed he could be at Everton before his £75million switch to United. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Belgium take on Iceland in Reykjavik on Wednesday and it is hard to bet against Lukaku adding goal No 54, 55 or 56. That's the challenge for Lukaku now. Barca and Thom Browne unveil clothing collection, Mexico taking shape after Europe trip as Tecatito impresses, For Reyna and Co., Germany is the place to be, France provides Pogba with escape from Man United troubles, Ramos' longevity for Spain and Madrid is impressive but he isn't slowing down, MLS Power Rankings: Toronto remains No. He also helped the Camp Nou side win La Liga. It is likely that had the Ballon D'Or not been scrapped for 2020, neither Messi nor Ronaldo would have won it, in the aftermath of Robert Lewandowski's brilliant, record-breaking season for Bayern Munich, as the German giants completed a treble, after winning the UEFA Champions League in Lisbon, in August. LIVE Transfer Talk: Barca to turn to free agents Pogba and Alaba? For Solskjaer and United, it appears they didn't know quite how good they had it until it was gone. He scored 34 goals in his debut campaign and added six assists. Time flies, so I will enjoy football and my family.". Barcelona and Juventus have been drawn together in Group G, alongside Dynamo Kyiv and Ferencvaros. "It will be tough, but I still have some years ahead of me. 'With Conte I improved my game in every aspect,' Lukaku said recently. He had Yannick Carrasco and Kevin De Bruyne for company at Wembley at the weekend. (Club stats since Romelu Lukaku left Manchester United back in August 2019), Marcus Rashford (left) and Mason Greenwood (right) have combined for three goals across all competitions so far this season - the same number Lukaku has managed on his own at Inter. Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Ronaldo skips Ballon d'Or to get Serie A award, Megan Rapinoe won the Women's Ballon d'Or award. And two emojis hammered home Mbappe's admiration for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner - a crown and a goat. 1, Is the Premier League recession-proof? United States star Megan Rapinoe won the Women's Ballon d'Or award after being voted the tournament's best player and joint top scorer as the USWNT won the 2019 World Cup in France. Romelu Lukaku's goal against England took him ahead of two familiar faces in one key stat, Lukaku's international goal-per-game exceeds Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, Lukaku's sensational form in the last 12 months raises questions for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United after the Norwegian deemed the Belgian surplus to requirements.
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