5 players who could have won the Ballon d'Or in the absence of Ronaldo and Messi

As football fans, we have been blessed with the privilege to watch week in, week out two of the game’s greatest ever players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Sometimes fans don't understand how fortunate they been as there has never been an era like this. Despite the imperious dominance of the duo, there have been a lot of world-class players to play in the same era. Players who if they were playing in another era would have certainly won a Ballon d’Or.

Here are 5 players who could have won the Ballon d’Or in the absence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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#5 Wayne Rooney

England v United States - International Friendly

Yes, there was a time when Wayne Rooney was THAT good. Some have argued that the current Derby player is the greatest English player of all time. That’s why the 34-year-old is both Manchester United’s and England’s all-time top scorer. On top of that, the striker turned midfielder won 5 EPL titles, 8 domestic cups and a UEFA Champions League title in his prime.

Rooney’s greatness goes beyond his records and multiple achievements, he was shown to be of exceptional ability from a very young age. It was one of the most iconic moments in history when a 16-year-old Rooney scored a winner over Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal for Everton. He would only get better with time and when he formed a devastating front three with Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, not one club in Europe looked forward to playing at Old Trafford.

Between 2010 and 2013, Rooney was regularly the only English player nominated for the award with mostly Barcelona and Real Madrid players considered favourites for the win. The last Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or was Michael Owen in 2001, but we can all agree that Wayne Rooney was a better player than he ever was.

#4 Xavi Hernández

FC Barcelona's midfield maestro

Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team will go down in history as the greatest and best playing team ever. They not only dominated the domestic scene, but they reached the summit of European football in a style that defied all logic. In a midfield trio with Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, Xavi was the one who orchestrated Barcelona’s passing play. He was so good that his teammate Dani Alves described playing with him as ‘playing in the future.’

He was always two steps ahead of the opponent, sometimes even his own teammates too. Xavi was the embodiment of tiki-taka for his country and club. Although not the star man, without him, neither of those two teams would have enjoyed such success. The midfield maestro made 133 caps for his country, whilst appearing an unprecedented 505 times for his childhood club.

In 2010, such was the dominance of Barcelona, all three of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi were the Ballon d’Or finalists, a year where many thought he should have won. Because of the immortality of Messi and Ronaldo, Xavi’s genius has never truly been appreciated.

#3 Franck Ribéry

There haven’t been many more devastating wingers in the game than Franck Ribery.

Across his Bayern Munich career, the 36-year-old scored 124 goals and provided 182 assists in 425 games. The 3-time Football of the Year and 1-time UEFA Best Player won 15 domestic trophies in Germany alongside 1 Champions League title.

In 2013, Ribery had his best season to date. That was a campaign where his team won 5 trophies, while he scored 22 goals and provided 18 assists in the process. In addition to that, Ribery created 149 chances in 52 appearances all competitions. When you fuse all this together, Ribery had the credentials to win the Ballon d’Or, he’s just unfortunate that he plays in the same era as Messi and Ronaldo.

The former Bayern winger was so upset he wasn’t awarded the title in 2013, he went on a massive tirade in the aftermath. The Frenchman was quoted as saying “I feel I had earned this award. It’s all politics.” Perhaps he was right to feel aggrieved.

#2 Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior

Neymar was sublime for Barcelona

Since the retirement of Ronaldinho and the Brazilian Ronaldo, there hasn’t been a bigger buzz about a player from Brazil than Neymar. From his days at Santos, there has been a hype surrounding his name that cannot be quantified. And to be fair to the generational talent, Neymar has lived up to his billing at both Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. He became so good at the Nou Camp that there was one point in time where he was considered the main man, over Lionel Messi himself.

In his final season in Spain, the Brazilian directly contributed to 54 goals in 48 games. That same season saw the forward engineer a 4-goal comeback against PSG, the team he would end up moving to the following season. It is completely undeniable that Neymar was the most anticipated footballer in the world at that time, and in an era without the two greats, the 28-year-old would have certainly been crowned the best player of the year. He’s an undeniable talent that may not be fully appreciated in this testing era.

#1 Andrés Iniesta

Iniesta scoring the World Cup winner

As a World Cup winner, 2-time European Championship winner, 9-time La Liga champion, 6-time Spanish Cup champion and 4-time UEFA Champions League winner, Andres Iniesta is one of the most accomplished footballers in history. What makes it even more impressive is that Andrés Iniesta was the driving force behind by his club and country’s success.

The Spanish midfielder became world-renowned for his intricate play, quick passing, mesmerising dribbling and unparalleled creativity. At his peak, there wasn’t a team in world football the midfielder couldn’t have walked into. In 2012, Iniesta had his second-highest ever Ballon d’Or ranking, where he finished 3rd behind both Messi and Ronaldo. Many believed that after he scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, is when the Spaniard should have picked up the prestigious award.

Not many players across history have had an impact like the midfielder, he was a player that literally defined Barcelona and Spain’s best-ever teams. Perhaps because he doesn’t score or assist the most, people seem to underrate his contribution to those successful campaigns but if you ask those who were playing with him, they’d be the first to tell you how important he was.

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