Ranking the 5 best Ballon d'Or winning duos who were team-mates in the 21st century

#3 Ronaldo Nazario & Figo (Real Madrid)

David Beckham, Ronaldo, Steve Mcmanaman and Luis Figo of Real Madrid warm-up

Winning the Ballon d'Or more than once is a feat achieved by only 10 players to date and Ronaldo Nazario is one of them. The Brazilian was a monster in front of goal with his mind-boggling dribbling and superb goal-scoring abilities.

He played for a number of top European clubs including Real Madrid. With a team of Galacticos, Los Blancos have been a real force since the start of the 21st century. Luis Figo was also part of that famous era as he played together with Ronaldo for almost three seasons.

The Portuguese won his Ballon d'Or in 2000 before Ronaldo joined Real Madrid. The Brazilian, who won his first Ballon d'Or in 1997 with Inter, added another to his trophy cabinet with Real Madrid in 2002.

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#2 Cristiano Ronaldo & Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

Real Madrid CF v FC Bayern Muenchen - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg

It was a revolutionary period for Real Madrid in the last decade when they imposed their authority in Europe. The Spanish giants won the UEFA Champions League four times in the last decade, including thrice in a row.

Most of the success was instigated by the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009. The club has achieved a lot of success since then. The Portuguese has always been a serial winner and it was no different at Real Madrid. It only got better with the signing of Luka Modric in 2012.

With the Croatian's sharp and dominant play in midfield, it was only going to help Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid's cause. The Portuguese has won the Ballon d'Or five times, four of which came while playing for Real Madrid alongside Modric. The former Spurs midfielder won the Ballon d'Or in 2018, becoming the first winner other than Ronaldo and Lionel Messi since Kaka did so in 2007.

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#1 Lionel Messi & Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

Real Madrid v F.C. Barcelona

Ronaldinho was one of the first players to identify the crazy potential of the young Lionel Messi when he came through the ranks at Barcelona. He befriended the young Argentine and helped him out whenever possible.

The Brazilian forward was one of the masters in dribbling and contributed significantly at the Catalan club for five seasons. Ronaldinho was the one who assisted Lionel Messi for his very first senior goal.

He won the Ballon d'Or in 2005 with Barcelona before leaving in 2008 for AC Milan and passing on his blessings to the Argentine superstar.

As it is well-known, Lionel Messi has won the most number of Ballon d'Or awards, with seven to his name. He would surely have learned a lot while playing with Ronaldinho and would be hoping to pass on the same level of guidance and knowledge to his young team-mates.