There have been different prestigious honors in the game of soccer over the years. One such uniquely crafted honor is called the name of Super Ballon d’Or. As per the reports, the prestigious award has only been awarded once till now in 1989.
The Super Ballon d’Or is reportedly awarded to a player who has been the best performer in the last 30 years. The prestigious honor is termed one of the biggest awards that a soccer player can ever receive. According to the reports, the Super Ballon d’Or could be held again in the year 2029.
A recently published report has projected the winning probability of the players most likely to win the award this time around. The report has touted that Argentina’s Lionel Messi had an 80% chance of winning the prestigious award. It further inflicted that however, Leo’s counterpart and Portuguese veteran Cristiano Ronaldo bolsters only a 16% probability of grabbing the honor.
Leo has been a phenomenal performer for both his country and the clubs which he has represented in his career so far. The 36-year-old also propelled his country Argentina to the FIFA World Cup title in the year, 2022. Argentina’s number ten is also among the goals and assists for his current MLS team Inter Miami.
Comparisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo has also delivered consistent performances for Portugal in his career so far. The 38-year-old has topped it up with his consistent goal-scoring ability for the clubs which he has played for so far. The Portugal legend is also having a fruitful time at his current Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr.
The other probable winners of the reward as suggested by the report are Brazils’s former player Ronaldo. Former France international Zinedine Zidane, and former Ukraine and AC Milan’s iconic player Andriy Shevchenko.
What happened to the player who won the only Super Ballon d’Or?
According to the reports, the only Super Ballon d’Or in the history of soccer till now was awarded to the Spanish-Argentine striker Alfredo Di Stefano. Reportedly Alfredo represented the Spanish international team in a sum of 31 matches, scoring 23 goals.
The veteran player also played six matches for Argentina – his birth country. As per the earlier reports, Alfredo Di Stefano retired from soccer after playing two seasons for the La Liga club RCD Espanyol in Spain. The player is reported to have scored 377 goals in about 521 games at the club level in his career.
Alfredo Di Stefano unfortunately passed away on July 7, 2014. Reports term the legendary player as one of the greatest players ever to embrace the game of soccer. His last position in terms of his relation to soccer, was of Spanish club Real Madrid’s Honorary President.