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What The Last 13 Ballon d'Or Winners Would Look Like In A World Without Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo

What The Last 13 Ballon d'Or Winners Would Look Like In A World Without Lionel Messi And Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the Ballon d'Or awards, but what if they didn't exist?

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's dominance over the Ballon d'Or has seen the duo win a combined total of 12 awards between them in the last 13 years.

Only Luka Modric was able to upset the duoply in 2018 after a stand-out year but other than that, since 2008 it's been Messi and Ronaldo exchanging prizes.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Messi won his seventh on Monday to move two ahead of Ronaldo, but what would the standings look like in a world where the titans of world football didn't exist?

We've gone off who was the next individual along after Messi and Ronaldo.

2008 was when Ronaldo won the Golden Ball for the first time, beating Messi to it. Fernando Torres was also on fire at the time and his third place finish meant he would have scooped the gong.

2009 and 2010 would have also been won by Spaniards as Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta had strong years - although many have said Wesley Sneijder should have got it for the latter annum.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The pair of midfield maestros would also have been winners in 2011 and 2012 respectively, with Franck Ribery the victor in 2013 after playing a key role in Bayern Munich's treble.

Image: PA
Image: PA

The prize would have stayed in Bavaria for 2014 and gone with Manuel Neuer, with Neymar and Antoine Griezmann winning in 2015 and 2016.

In this hypothetical universe, Neymar would have also got a second Ballon d'Or in 2017 - a year prior to Modric winning for real.

Ronaldo was second on this occasion, with Messi somehow finding himself down in fifth.

2019 was a stellar year for Virgil van Dijk and given his second-placed finish, so he would have become the first defender since Fabio Cannavaro to win the Ballon d'Or.


Last year's award was of course nixed due to COVID-19 pandemic but 2021's prize would have gone to Robert Lewandowski, who continued to bang in the goals for Bayern Munich and finished second.

Image: PA
Image: PA

Lewandowski won 'Striker of the Year' and was only 33 points behind Messi. In his acceptance speech in Paris, the Argentine even admitted that the Pole deserved a Ballon d'Or as he gave props to Lewandowski.

Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus said he didn't "understand the world anymore", while 1960 winner Luis Suarez had already said he would give Lewandowski his award if he did not win.

Featured Image Credit: Image: PA

Topics: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ballon d'Or, Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta, Franck Ribery