Cole: Messi, Ronaldo still top Ballon d´Or contenders

Ashley Cole hopes the day will come when a defender wins the Ballon d’Or again but admits it is hard to envisage in the era of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Messi this year won a record sixth Ballon d’Or – edging him ahead of the five awards Ronaldo holds – when he saw off competition from Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk.

Dutchman Van Dijk has been inspirational for the Reds since he joined from Southampton midway through 2017-18, and he played a key role in their Champions League success last season.

Former England left-back Cole would have liked to see a fellow defender win the coveted trophy – awarded to the world’s top player – for the first time since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.

However, he believes Barcelona’s Messi and Juventus forward Ronaldo remain clearly the best players in world football.

“It’s tough,” Cole told Omnisport. “You want different positions maybe being credited with how good they’ve played in that season, but to be honest I don’t think you can look outside of Messi and Ronaldo.

“What Messi does week in, week out is not normal. Again, the same with Ronaldo. It wasn’t a surprise that Messi won it but one day, yeah, we probably would like a defender to win it.”

Ballon d’Or pic.twitter.com/yu5wcziEBz

— Virgil van Dijk (@VirgilvDijk) December 3, 2019

One left-back who has impressed Cole in the Premier League this season is Ben Chilwell, who has been in fine form for high-flying Leicester City.

“I think, for me, him and [Liverpool’s Andy] Robertson are the best two left-backs in the Premier League at the minute,” Cole said, speaking on behalf of Nissan.

Chilwell looks set to become the regular starter for England heading into Euro 2020.

“He’s playing in a good Leicester team, suiting his game at the minute where he can attack and he’s got protection behind him,” Cole said.

“Whether he starts for England? That’s probably a question for Gareth [Southgate]. I’d like to see him start because I think when he has played for England he’s played very well.

“He looks accomplished there. I’d like to see him start but that’s down to the manager.”

Nissan are proud partners of the UEFA Champions League. UEFA ambassador Ashley Cole was at the Chelsea FC v LOSC Lille match on Tuesday 10th December, along with the UEFA Champions League Trophy, which is being driven around the UK by the next generation Nissan Juke.