10 legendary footballers who have never won the Ballon d'Or

#6 Xavi

Xavi was the engine of an immensely successful Barcelona team

Xavi Hernandez's graduation from the Barcelona's La Masia youth academy and his integration into their first-team perhaps heralded the advent of the style of tiki-taka football that would make the Catalan club so successful.

His presence in the heart of that team truly made them tick. It's one of the reasons why he won the La Liga eight times.

Barcelona's domestic dominance also coincided with Spain's period of international success, with Xavi playing an important role in the Spanish team that won Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012. The only footballer more successful than Xavi in Spain's history is his teammate Andres Iniesta.

Xavi came close to winning the Ballon d'Or on multiple occasions, finishing third in 2009, 2010 and 2011.