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

#5 Franck Ribery (2013)

Ribery's wing wizardry might have earned him the award

Perhaps the one year when one player came the closest to breaking the Ronaldo-Messi monopoly was 2013 when Bayern Munich's Ribery put himself forward at every point as the best player in Europe.

Indeed, to this day he maintains that Ronaldo 'robbed' him of the Ballon D'Or for 2013. His claims aren't without merit, too: his incisive dribbling and trickery on the left wing were a key factor in Bayern's treble-winning campaign.

He led the Bundesliga assist table that year with 13 and scored 10 goals as well.

Ribery actually won UEFA's Best Player In Europe award during the summer of 2013 and was a strong favorite for many to win the Ballon d'Or too. It wasn't to be, but the voting results show one of the closest races in recent memory: just over 4% separated the Frenchman from winner Ronaldo.

While it's not to be denied that Ronaldo and Messi enjoyed great campaigns in the scoring stakes, as usual, no player in Europe was as integral to their team's success as Ribery was.

Bayern was a team full of talent on the pitch, but the level of influence Ribery had over their play from the left midfield position was crucial. He held great partnerships with those around him, especially the opposite Bayern winger Arjen Robben, but it was Ribery's individual brilliance that really stuck out in 2013. There was few better at beating their man, either through acceleration or skill.