8 players who could have won the Ballon d'Or in the last 8 years

#7 Wayne Rooney (2011)

Rooney after scoring his bicycle kick to defeat Manchester City 2-1

The best English player of his generation had enjoyed great success in his time at Manchester United, winning league titles and the Champions League in 2008 without ever having a standout single season of his own.

That was to change in 2011 when Rooney really delivered on his incredible promise that he showed when he burst onto the English football scene.

After the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid in 2009, he knew that he had to step up. Rooney had always had the confidence and swagger to terrorize defenses on his own, and in 2011 he finally added a large number of goals to his play.

Only 1 month into the year, he scored the now-famous bicycle kick to beat Manchester City 2-1; an incredible finish followed by an iconic celebration. He scored the equalizer against Blackburn on the final day of the season to guarantee Manchester United the league title. Rooney carried his form into the new season, and by the end of 2011-2012, he'd have 34 goals in 43 games to his name, his best return for a single season.

Rooney bullied defenders that year and was rarely beaten in aerial duels or one-on-ones. His power, skill, and stamina were terrifying for defenders to tackle.

What was clear about his form was that he was a player enjoying being the main front man: when starting out at the club, he was the youthful partner to Ruud van Nistelrooy, and after this was part of an attacking trio with Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

2011 was the first Manchester United team that could be called Rooney's team and he repaid Sir Alex Ferguson's trust brilliantly. Rooney had started first-team football around the same time as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi did, and the assumption at that time was that the 3 young talents would go on to have similarly remarkable careers.

Sadly Rooney dipped while the other two got better, but in this 1 season he rose to their level and deserved acclaim for the way he dominated English football.