5 Barcelona stars apart from Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi has been the most successful footballer to win Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi has been the most successful footballer to win Ballon d'Or

#1 Ronaldinho - 2005

Ronaldinho in Barcelona v Real Sociedad
Ronaldinho in Barcelona v Real Sociedad

Ronaldinho played for FC Barcelona from 2003 - 2008 making 145 appearances. He scored 70 goals for the La Liga giants and won the Ballon d'Or in 2005 ahead of the England duo of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Ronaldinho had previously come third best in 2004 in the Ballon d'Or race behind Andriy Shevchenko and his Barcelona team-mate Deco.

He was only the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans after playing an El Clasico match where he scored twice against Real Madrid in 2005.

Ronaldinho was also a wide exponent of - "Life is short, so enjoy it while you can"philosophy. One of the best exponents of the "Elastico" Move, his dribbling skills and the sheer energy and pace was a beautiful sight to watch. He later moved on to A.C.Milan and later went on to play for a string of Brazilian Clubs during the end of his career.

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Edited by Sundaresh Kumar
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