Ballon d'Or Seating Plan Has Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Single Seat Apart

As the countdown to Monday night's Ballon d'Or continues, FIFA tweeted a teasing picture of the seating plan for the gala event in Zurich, showing that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be seated very close to one another:

"

Officials prepare the seating plan for tomorrow's ceremony. Visit the #BallondOr home here - http://t.co/k5EdQyiQz4 pic.twitter.com/sN2KFHwG2v

— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) January 12, 2014"

So who will sit between the duo? It's presumably not Franck Ribery, the third candidate for the award this year. After all, he'd probably have his own oversized place card. 

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the awards in recent times. Ronaldo won in 2008, then Messi scooped four in a row. While both are nominated this year, it is expected that the Portuguese star will scoop the prestigious title as 2013's best player.

The Metro cheekily suggested Alan Pardew as the man to sit between them, after the Newcastle manager showed himself to not be much of a peacemaker in the Toon's game with Manchester City at the weekend.

Frankly, the pair are unlikely to need splitting up—and on the off chance they do, that will make for a considerably more lively ceremony.