Tim Cahill has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or this year ahead of Lionel Messi. 

The Barcelona star looks to be in the lead in terms of picking up the individual award for the sixth time, but Cahill endorsed Ronaldo for adapting to new surroundings after he left Real Madrid for Juventus last summer.

Cahill told Alkass Sport (h/t Goal's Josh Thomas):

"The reason why I say Ronaldo, I know people won't agree, is because of what he's done in Juventus.

"He left Real Madrid, went there and had such a massive impact on another league. I've never seen another player do it at Man United, Madrid for so many years.

"And I know he didn't win the Champions League, but he has such an impact in any club. If you can take players and put them somewhere at his age... 

"I know people won't agree, I just appreciate his professionalism." 

In each of the last five years, the award has gone to a player whose team won the UEFA Champions League. Prior to Luka Modric lifting the gong in 2018, that player was always Messi or Ronaldo.

Neither will win the Champions League this year, but there's a good chance one of them will lift the Ballon d'Or.

In 2019, Ronaldo has contributed 13 goals and three assists to Juventus in all competitions, including a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last 16.

For his domestic efforts, he was named Serie A's MVP after helping them win the Scudetto:

Bleacher Report's Gianni Verschueren questioned the 34-year-old receiving the award, though:

While Ronaldo's ability to make match-winning contributions wherever he goes is impressive, Juve had won the title seven years running before his arrival and would likely have made it eight even if he had not joined.

The Bianconeri haven't quite been the same attacking force with him in the side, either. They have scored 70 goals in 37 Serie A matches this season, whereas last year—when they were less focused on trying to help an individual player stand out—they finished the campaign with 86.

As for Messi, he has been excellent in 2019 with 29 goals and five assists, including a brace in each knockout round of the Champions League.

He guided Barca to their fourth La Liga title in five years, but once again they couldn't have done it without him:

Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe has backed Messi to win the Ballon d'Or:

The award will not be handed out until the end of the year, though, and there's a lot of football to played in the meantime.

That is particularly the case in terms of the international football to be played this summer, as Ronaldo will compete for silverware in the UEFA Nations League finals with Portugal, while Messi will do the same with Argentina in the Copa America.

Defenders don't typically win the Ballon d'Or, but Virgil van Dijk—who will play in the Champions League final for Liverpool and the Nations League with the Netherlands—might also find himself in contention.