Every Ballon d’Or winner between 2008 and 2021 if Messi and Ronaldo did not exist
For the past 15 years, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have completely dominated world football, scoring hundreds of goals and winning trophy after trophy.
Messi and Ronaldo have won 12 Ballons d’Or between them, as well as 14 national titles, 10 domestic cups, seven Champions Leagues, and two continental crowns with their respective countries.
And the Argentine and Portuguese superstars have finished as the top two in the race for football’s most prestigious individual award nine times.
But what if the two best players of our generation – and two of all time – did not exist? Who would have won the Ballon d’Or in each of their respective years?
The football world would be a very different place without them, so we’ve looked at who would have topped the podium in their absence.
2008 – Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
2009 – Xavi (Barcelona)
2010 – Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
2011 – Xavi (Barcelona)
2012 – Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
2013 – Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)
2014 – Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
2015 – Neymar (Barcelona)
2016 – Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
2017 – Neymar (Barcelona)
2018 – Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
2019 – Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
2021 – Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Every Ballon d’Or winner between 2008 and 2021 if Messi and Ronaldo did not exist
