Twenty years at the top! Messi sets a Ballon d'Or record that may never be broken
Some records are about winning. This one is about never going away: Lionel Messi has just stretched his Ballon d'Or story across two full decades.
Details: Messi is named among the 2026 Ballon d'Or nominees, making him the first player in history to span 20 years between his first and most recent nominations, from 2006, when he earned two votes as a Barcelona teenager, to today. No other player has ever managed a 20 year gap between first and last nomination.
The nomination caps a remarkable farewell tour for the 39 year old: a World Cup final run with Argentina this summer, 8 goals at the tournament, and a domestic double with Inter Miami before announcing his international retirement last month. The eight time winner, a record that itself may stand forever, is an outsider this year, with Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal leading the race after the World Cup. But that is almost beside the point: to still be on the shortlist two decades after his first, having retired from international football weeks ago, is a longevity feat that redefines what a football career can look like.
It's worth noting that Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for most nominations with 18, but even his span, 2004 to 2022, falls short of Messi's new 20 year mark.
Reminder: Cherif Ndiaye announces his retirement from international football.
Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
