Ronaldo and Messi’s fascinating rivalry has continued in 2017 with the Real Madrid and Barcelona men both enjoying another fine year.

La Liga was dominated by Real, with Ronaldo firing the Bernabeu outfit to a first league title since the days of Jose Mourinho.

He also followed that up by helping Los Blancos become the first team to retain the Champions League in its modern format.

Messi, meanwhile, has hit the goal trail under Ernesto Valverde mere months after firing Barcelona to the Copa del Rey.

It means the two will again be favourites for the prestigious Ballon d’Or trophy next month.

And Spanish website Don Balon says the two players have talked about it over the phone.

In recent days, leaks have suggested that Messi will scoop the prize for the sixth time - despite Ronaldo firing Real to the more highly-regarded pieces of silverware.

But this is supposedly not the case.

Ronaldo is said to already be aware that he has fended off competition from his great rival to win the accolade for the fifth time.

And he and Messi have discussed this, with the Argentinean congratulating the Real Madrid attacker on the upcoming victory.

However, Ronaldo thinks Messi will win next year’s award - particularly with the Barcelona man in such devastating form.

Messi has already scored 12 league goals for the season with Ronaldo having just a single strike to his name.

Meanwhile, former Ronaldo team-mate Kaka has tipped PSG’s Neymar to beat Ronaldo and Messi to the award further down the line.

“Football isn’t an exact science so it’s difficult to say what will happen in the future, but I would say that the next winner of the Ballon d’Or after Cristiano and Messi will be Neymar,” Kaka told the Colombian media outlet El Espectador.