Luke Shaw was convinced that one of his Manchester United teammates would follow in the same footsteps as Cristiano Ronaldo by winning the Ballon d’Or.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time, has won the second most Ballon d’Ors in football history, with five awards to his name.
The 40-year-old United legend dominated the Ballon d’Or podium for a decade with Lionel Messi, who has captured the sought-after prize a record eight times.
Both Ronaldo and Barcelona legend Lionel Messi were level at one point with five awards apiece before the Inter Miami captain pulled ahead of the Al Nassr star.
The former Real Madrid and United superstar’s first Ballon d’Or win came during his first spell at Old Trafford under legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Sir Alex Ferguson brought Ronaldo to Old Trafford in 2003 from Sporting CP and the legendary former United No 7 lifted France Football’s Ballon d’Or award in 2008.
READ MORE: Champions League club is closely ‘monitoring’ situation around Man Utd target, Red Devils’ transfer stance remains clear
Real Madrid and Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo with the Ballon d’Or trophy at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 2016.
Photo by Angel Martinez/Real Madrid via Getty Images
More United News
Why Man Utd star Luke Shaw tipped Marcus Rashford to repeat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Ballon d’Or feat
Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed for Real Madrid in 2009, is the last Manchester United player to have lifted the Ballon d’Or award during their spell at Old Trafford.
The ‘Holy Trinity’ of George Best, Denis Law and Sir Bobby Charlton lifted the Ballon d’Or prize and are the only other former players to have pulled off the feat at United.
Luke Shaw watched as Marcus Rashford rose through the United youth academy to become a key player in the Red Devils’ first-team squad at Old Trafford.
Following the end of the 2019-20 season, the 29-year-old United and England defender suggested that Marcus Rashford could win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
When Shaw spoke about Rashford, he told Manchester United’s official website in 2020: “He’s looked unstoppable at times this season and he’s looked so confident.
“I haven’t seen that in him before. He was always confident, but not to this level, and he’s matured so much.
“He knows he has the ability to be one of the best and he’s pushing himself all the time to maximise that.
“There’s no reason why, if he keeps going, keeps pushing himself, that he can’t win it one day.”
READ MORE: Man Utd-linked midfielder who will be free agent in 2026 now breaks silence over Old Trafford interest, ‘I’m very…’
Man Utd star Luke Shaw pinpointed exactly why Marcus Rashford fell short of lifting the Ballon d’Or in his career
Marcus Rashford ended the 2019-20 campaign by scoring 22 times and registering 12 assists for United in 44 matches across all competitions.
The 27-year-old United player would later enter the form of his life at Old Trafford, with Rashford netting 30 times and registering 12 assists in 56 matches.
Now, fast-forward to 2025 and Rashford has spent the last six months out on loan at Aston Villa and the United star’s future at Old Trafford appears all but over.
Aston Villa took Rashford out on loan in the January transfer window after the United loanee fell out of favour under Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.
Rashford impressed at times during his loan spell at Villa Park, but his move to Villa is unlikely, despite the option to buy him for £40m this summer.
Shaw highlighted exactly why Rashford didn’t lift the Ballon d’Or award at United by pointing out that he didn’t keep “pushing himself” when he was in form.
The United left-back could still be proven right one day with his prediction, but the only thing that stopped Rashford from pulling off the feat was the player himself.