Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) star Ousmane Dembele has picked Lionel Messi as his greatest-ever Ballon d'Or winner over Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman was asked to pick among several former winners, and the two GOATs of modern football were the final two options.Speaking to Ballon d'Or's official account on X (previously Twitter), Dembele started by picking Kaka over Luka Modric, but the AC Milan legend was swiftly left behind by Ronaldinho, who got picked ahead of Karim Benzema too, but lost out to Ronaldo Nazario.The legendary Brazilian striker got picked over Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini, but lost to Zinedine Zidane as per Dembele. However, the 1998 World Cup-winner immediately lost out to Cristiano Ronaldo, who ultimately missed out on the top place to Lionel Messi.Dembele himself is in the running for the Ballon d'Or this year and spoke to DAZN about it during the FIFA Club World Cup. He said:"I’m thinking about [the Ballon d’Or]. I know that, with the season that I have had, I am not far [from the Ballon d’Or], but I am focused on the objectives, before thinking about myself."PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi also spoke to DAZN and said the credibility of the award should be questioned if Dembele did not win it this year. He said:"Ousmane’s season is magnificent. There is no doubt that he won’t win the Ballon d’Or. If he doesn’t win it, there is a problem with the Ballon d’Or. He has done everything."Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not in the top 30 nominees this year after missing out last time as well. Dembele has made the list, along with eight of his PSG teammates who played a key role in winning the European treble last season. They have also added the UEFA Super Cup to their cabinet this week.Lionel Messi admitted he enjoyed Cristiano Ronaldo battle in Ballon d'Or interviewLionel Messi spoke to the Ballon d'Or account earlier this year, admitting that he enjoyed his battle with Cristiano Ronaldo. The Inter Miami superstar said that keeping their level was hard, but they managed to push each other to their limits and said (via World Soccer Talk):"It was always a ‘battle'. On the sporting side, it was really beautiful. We pushed each other because we’re both extremely competitive. He always wanted to win at everything, in every way. As the saying goes, it’s easy to get there, but the hard part is staying. We stayed at the top for 10, 15 years. It was incredible and a great memory for everyone who enjoys football."Lionel Messi currently has the record for the most Ballon d'Or wins with eight. Cristiano Ronaldo sits in second place with five trophies, the last one coming in 2017.