Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says the Ballon d'Or is not exclusive to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo any more, and believes Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk would be a worthy winner of the individual prize.
Messi and Ronaldo won the award for 10 years in a row between 2008 and 2017, claiming five apiece in that time, but the pair saw their duopoly broken last year as Madrid midfielder Luka Modric took home the prestigious trophy in a ceremony in Paris last September.
This year, Van Dijk is the favourite to win it after his heroic performances in the Champions League, which saw him named Uefa Player of the Year at the competition's group stage draw on August 29.
"If Van Dijk wins it, it will be on sufficient merit," Ramos said at the launch of his new Amazon Prime documentary, in quotes published by Marca. "Great defender.
"As a defender, it's harder.
"It seems as though it's not just Messi and Cristiano [now]. It seems there's a route opening [for others]."
However, he added: "It makes you think [when you realise] that no Spanish players have won it.
"It's an individual prize and it's not really known what is being recognised."
