5 youngest footballers to win the Ballon d'Or

Ballon d'Or is the most significant individual award a footballer can get. It is given to the best player over the course of the calendar year. For the last ten years, it has been dominated by two footballers - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

But never before has a player been contending for the prestigious award for ten straight years. It was once expected only for a player that has reached his peak to get named the best in the world.

While most footballers are at their best at the age of 27 till 30, some reach their prime much earlier. These are the five youngest footballers that have won the Ballon d'Or.

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#5 Oleh Blokhin in 1975 (23 years, 2 months)

Oleh Blokhin USSR 1983

Ukrainian legend Oleh Blokhin was a part of the famous Dynamo Kyiv side in the 70s and 80s that won two UEFA Cup Winners Cups.

In 1975 Blokhin became the 2nd Soviet footballer to win the Ballon d'Or. He won by a landslide, beating the likes of Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff. Ukrainian striker was only 23 years old at the time.

Blokhin's most spectacular moment in 1975 and possibly his whole career was the win against the star-studded Bayern Munich in UEFA Super Cup. After winning their first Cup Winners Cup, Dynamo Kyiv had to play the European Cup champions. The Soviet side beat Bayern in both games, recording a 3:0 on aggregate. Blokhin scored all three goals and his performance didn't go unseen.

For years Real Madrid tried to sign the talented striker but was always denied. Including in 1981 when Blokhin finished 5th in Ballon d'Or voting. The transfer was reportedly agreed but the Soviet authorities cancelled it in the last moments. Blokhin did leave the Soviet Union eventually but only long after his prime.

#4 George Best in 1968 (22 years, 8 months)

George Best

Northern Ireland's prodigy George Best is known as the football's first true superstar. He had the looks, personality and the lifestyle to become a popular figure into the world of mainstream entertainment.

Even though it spread wider than just football, his popularity was possible because of what he did on the pitch. Best was a part of ''the holy trinity'' with two other legendary forwards Bobby Charlton and Dennis Law in Manchester United. In 1967/68 season Northern Ireland's winger scored 32 goals, helping United win their first ever European Cup trophy.

22-year-old Best went on to win his first and unfortunately only Ballon d'Or, beating his teammate Charlton. For almost 30 years Best was the youngest ever winner of this award and three years later he finished 3rd in voting.

After many years of dominating in England, Best's career went to downhill in the early 70s along with the decline of Manchester United. He was still only 27 when he left. Best played for ten clubs over the next decade, never reaching the heights he once had.

#3 Lionel Messi 2009 (22 years, 5 months)

Lionel Messi

Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi is widely recognised as one of the greatest footballers ever played. He has spent his whole career in Barcelona, winning more than 30 trophies.

In 2009 Messi won his first Ballon d'Or at the age of only 22. He led Barcelona to what is known as one of the greatest years for a club in football history, as they won every single trophy possible for them - La Liga, Copa Del Rey, Spanish and European Supercup, FIFA Club World Cup and, of course, UEFA Champions League.

Messi has been dominating the football since, winning the Ballon d'Or for the next three years and in 2015. He has built a famous rivalry with Cristiano Ronaldo who joint Barcelona's biggest rival Real Madrid in 2009.

#2 Michael Owen in 2001 (22 years, 4 days)

Michael Owen

Similarly to Best, Liverpool's legend Michael Owen also hit his peak at a very young age. He was only 18 when he was named the Premier League's player of the season in 1998. Interesting that for the next eight years every winner was older than Owen.

Liverpool's young striker won his only Ballon d'Or in 2001. He beat another young superstar Raul for the award and a veteran goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

That year Owen helped Liverpool win the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and European Super Cup in which the young Englishman scored the winning goal against Bayern Munich.

In 2004 Owen left Liverpool for Real Madrid but couldn't prove his worth in Spain. He returned to England just a season later. Owen's career has been filled with injuries ever since.

#1 Ronaldo in 1997 (21 years, 3 months)

Ronaldo (left) after scoring the winning goal in FIFA World Cup 2002 Final

Another player with a career ruined because of injuries is the Brazilian superstar Ronaldo. But the two time World Cup winner is still known as one of the best footballers ever.

Ronaldo was only 20 when he was named the world's best footballer by FIFA in 1996 but Ballon d'Or went to Matthias Sommer. However, the year later Ronaldo was awarded by both organisations - by a significant amount.

In 1997 Ronaldo won the Cup Winners Cup with Barcelona and finished 2nd in the league, losing only by two points to Real Madrid. As the contract negations collapsed in summer, he left to Inter Milan after only one season with the Catalans in which he scored almost 50 goals.

In Italy, Ronaldo experienced career-threatening injuries, playing only 52 matches over the course of four seasons after a successful first one. After a World Cup victory in 2002, he joined Real Madrid and was a part of the famous Galacticos.