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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo told ‘move aside’ as Man City stars Jack Grealish and Phil Foden tipped to challenge for future Ballon d’Or awards
Tim Sherwood has challenged Manchester City duo Phil Foden and Jack Grealish to compete for future Ballon d’Or awards.
It comes after Karim Benzema scooped the prestigious award in Paris on Monday night, joining teammate Luka Modric as the only players outside of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to have picked up the gong since 2008.
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Not only that, it was the first time record seven-time winner Messi did not feature in the 30-man shortlist for the first time since 2005, while Ronaldo came home 20th in the final voting.
With Messi and Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or stranglehold waning, Sherwood believes two of English football’s brightest talents should be staking their claim to be in the mix with the other new kids of the block - Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
“We’re going to see some new winners - obviously there’s going to be no more Messi and no more Ronaldo,” Sherwood told talkSPORT Breakfast.
“We’ve enjoyed whilst it lasted but it’s time for the new breed. Mbappe possibly, certainly Haaland - I see him winning it because of his output which is incredible.
“Benzema is not gonna win it again and now the door’s open for perhaps Phil Foden or Jack Grealish or Harry Kane - he’s getting towards the end [of his career] now.
“Someone needs to step up. Move aside Ronaldo and Messi and open it up for someone else to win.”
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Benzema helped Real Madrid to the LaLiga title and was crucial in their run to Champions League glory, culminating in their 1-0 win in the final against Liverpool.
The former Tottenham boss was in full agreement that the Frenchman deserved to pick up this year’s award and pointed to Benzema’s goals against Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City en route to the final, as the moments that swung the voting in his favour
Sherwood added: “He was outstanding. The run of games he had in the Champions League and the goals he was scoring. They were up against it in those games, they looked like they were going out of the competition. I think he deserves it.”
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