No place for Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo in Robin van Persie's top three for Ballon d’Or award

Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has named three players who deserve to win this year's Ballon d'Or award and surprisingly star players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not among them.

Messi surpassed Ronaldo with his six Ballons d'Or award with that of the Portugal striker's five when he lifted the honour again in December 2019. The win also took Barcelona's Ballons d'Or tally to 12 to Real Madrid's 11.

Messi lifted the award for four consecutive year from 2009 onwards before picking the honour again in 2015 and 2019. 

Ronaldo, on the other hand, won his first Ballon d'Or award in 2008 before winning it in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Despite the records, van Persie snubbed Messi and Ronaldo from the list of three players who will be on the podium for this year's honour according to him.

The Dutch footballer believes Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski deserves to win football's most coveted individual trophy, metro.co.uk reported.

Meanwhile, Manchester Premier's Kevin De Bruyne and Liverpool's Sadio Mane will make it to top three, according to Van Persie.

Notably, only Real Madrid's Luka Modric (2018) has managed to win the award ahead of Messi and Ronaldo since 2007.

Lewandowski, De Bruyne and Mane, on the other hand, have intrestingly never made it to the top three for the Ballon d'Or award.

If Van Persie’s prediction comes true, it will be the first time since 2006 that neither Ronaldo nor Messi will make it to the top three.

Poland striker Lewandowski has notched up a total of 52 goals in 43 appearances he made across all competitions for Bayern Munich last season. He has guided the side to Bundesliga title while the team are still in race for the Champions League glory next month. 

De Bruyne, on the other hand, has smashed 11 goals besides providing 18 assists for Manchester City in the Premier League this season. City have made it to the semi-finals of the FA Cup, while they are still in contention for the Champions League. 

Meanwhile, Mane has scored 16 times for Liverpool besides providing seven assists as the side ended their 30-year. The Jurgen Klopp-led side has also won the Club World Cup this season, but the team has failed to defend the Champions League title and lost in both domestic cup competitions.