10 Players Who Would’ve Won the Ballon d’Or Without Messi and Ronaldo

In 2023, Lionel Messi was awarded a remarkable eighth Ballon d’Or after an incredible 12 months that saw the Argentine lead his nation to World Cup glory at the back end of 2022 and hit the ground running with his new club – Inter Miami – following his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer. This success saw the 36-year-old pull even further ahead of long-term rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five Ballons d’Or to his name.

There’s no denying how dominant Messi and Ronaldo have both been over the years. The two are regularly regarded as the very best players in the history of football and for good reason. Very few, if any, footballers have been at the top for as long as they were or had the impact that they’ve had.

As a result of their dominance, though, the pair had a stranglehold on the Ballon d’Or award for the best part of nearly two decades. Since Ronaldo’s first victory in 2008, there have only been two years where neither of the pair were handed the prestigious trophy. Those instances came in 2018 when Luka Modric won and in 2022 when Karim Benzema was handed the prize before jetting off to Saudi Arabia.

That means there have been plenty of years when some incredible players, who would have ordinarily been in with a great chance of winning a Ballon d’Or, instead lost out due to the sheer greatness of both Messi and Ronaldo. With that in mind, here are the 10 footballers who would almost certainly have at least one Ballon d’Or award to their name if the iconic pair didn’t exist.

1 Fernando Torres

Could have won in: 2008

The year 2008 was huge for Fernando Torres. The striker joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid the previous summer and quickly went on to have one of the best seasons of his life. He took to the Premier League like a duck to water and scored 33 goals for the Reds in his first season, making it one of the best debut seasons in Premier League history.

He also played a significant role in Spain’s Euro 2008 triumph that year and was included in the Team of the Tournament for his troubles. If Ronaldo didn’t have one of the all-time greatest seasons in the Premier League, Torres would have easily been the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or in 2008 – as he finished third behind the Man United star, with Messi second.

2 Xavi

Years he could have won: 2009 & 2011

If it hadn’t been for Messi and Ronaldo, it’s fair to say that Xavi would have won at least a couple of Ballon d’Or awards. The all-time Spanish midfield great was one of the best players in the world and dominated play from the middle of the park for Barcelona throughout his career.

Whether it was his exceptional impact that played a role in Barcelona’s Champions League victory in 2009, or his impact in one of the greatest football teams ever in 2011, when Pep Guardiola led the Spanish club to another Champions League triumph and ran riot in La Liga. If it wasn’t for Messi and Ronaldo, he’d have been a shoo-in for both of those years.

3 Andres Iniesta

Years he could have won: 2010 & 2012

If it wasn’t Xavi running the show in the middle of the pitch for Barcelona, it was his partner Andres Iniesta, who was one of the best players in the world at the time. In 2010, he played a key role in leading Spain to a World Cup victory. He even scored the winning goal in the final, which sealed the deal for the side.

Again in 2012, he was vital for his country in a major tournament, playing a major role in Spain’s Euro 2012 victory. The country was dominant for over four years with three major tournament victories in a row and Iniesta was influential during that time and could have made a great case for both the 2010 and 2012 Ballon d’Ors if Messi and Ronaldo weren’t around.

4 Franck Ribery

Year he could have won: 2013

Winning a treble with Bayern Munich in 2013, including a Champions League triumph, Franck Ribery certainly had a strong case for the Ballon d’Or award. The Frenchman led the Bundesliga in assists and played a significant role in his side’s incredible 12 months. If it wasn’t for Ronaldo, he’d have had the trophy in the bag.

It seemed a lot of football agreed too, with Ribery winning the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award, the French Player of the Year trophy and the Globe Soccer Best Footballer of the Year award that same year. The French star retired in 2022, hanging up his boots without a Ballon d’Or to his name, although he was certainly more than deserving in 2013 – and has made it clear that he felt so too, once claiming it was a ‘political’ decision to hand it to Ronaldo.

5 Manuel Neuer

Year he could have won: 2014

Few keepers have been on Manuel Neuer’s level over the last couple of decades, or indeed in history, with Neuer going down as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. The German has been consistently brilliant for years and 2014 was the best season of his career and he had a very strong case for the Ballon d’Or award. Dominating with Bayern Munich, he won the double, before having an incredible World Cup with Germany that saw the nation win the tournament.

Neuer was recognised for his fantastic form, winning the World Cup Golden Glove award, winning the Best European Goalkeeper award, the IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper award and was named the Footballer of the Year in Germany. Not bad at all and he could have added the Ballon d’Or to that list if Ronaldo wasn’t on fire for Real Madrid.

6 Neymar

Years he could have won: 2015 & 2017

For his performances alongside Messi at Barcelona, Neymar could have won two Ballon d’Or awards over the years, both in 2015 and 2017. The Brazilian was a goal-scoring phenom in 2015 and looked to be an incredible purchase by the Catalan giants who had brought him to the team one year earlier.

The Al Hilal star won La Liga’s Best World Player award in 2015, a testament to how good he was that year. Similarly, he had a superb year in 2017, his last at Barcelona, and could have very well won it that year too. Unfortunately, teammate Messi took the Ballon d’Or away from him in 2015, while Ronaldo did so in 2017. Even without a Ballon d’Or in his trophy cabinet, Neymar will still go down as one of Brazil’s greatest-ever players.

7 Antoine Griezmann

Year he could have won: 2016

While his eventual spell at Barcelona made Antoine Griezmann one of the biggest wastes of money ever, he was and still is an absolute machine at Atletico Madrid. In particular, 2016 was an incredible year for the Frenchman and he had a good case for winning the Ballon d’Or if Ronaldo wasn’t around.

The striker was in blistering form all year long, and took his Atletico side to the Champions League final, before ultimately coming up short. He similarly did the same with France, getting to the Euro 2016 final with his country before losing to Portugal. Considering Ronaldo is a member of the two sides to beat him, it’s not really that surprising to see Griezmann lose out a third time to the Portuguese superstar.

8 Virgil van Dijk

Year he could have won: 2019

There haven’t been many instances at all where a player arguably should have won the Ballon d’Or over either Ronaldo or Messi, but Virgil van Dijk certainly has a strong argument on the matter in 2019. After joining Liverpool a year earlier, the Dutchman quickly established himself as the best centre-back in the world, and he immediately transformed the Reds from impressive contenders to a dominant force in the Premier League.

The Liverpool captain’s performances at the back were instrumental as the side won the Champions League and pushed Manchester City until the final day of the Premier League season, before ultimately finishing as runners-up. The Reds had an incredible campaign, though, and put up 97 points, a tally that would have seen them win in almost any other year.

9 Robert Lewandowski

Year he could have won: 2021

Another player who probably should have won the Ballon d’Or is Robert Lewandowski, who hit a scary level of goal-scoring form in 2021. His Bayern Munich side ran riot in Germany and the forward was at the heart of it, with a monumental with 11 goals for his country and 48 for his club. The talisman scored 59 goals in 52 games that year, a mesmerising achievement.

Many felt he was guaranteed to win the Ballon d’Or after missing out the year prior due to COVID-19, and yet somehow the award didn’t go in his favour. No one has had a stronger case for winning the honour over Messi and Ronaldo than Lewandowski did in 2021 as he cemented himself as one of the top goalscorers of the 21st century.

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11 Erling Haaland

Year he could have won: 2023

Unfortunately, Lewandowski’s situation was very similar to a certain Norwegian who had been tearing defences apart in the Premier League for the past 12 months. With the Polish star’s incredible form in front of goal not being enough to usurp a Messi who hadn’t quite been at his best in 2021, what chance did Erling Haaland have against the Argentine who h`d finally led his country to a World Cup victory?

The last Premier League player to win the Ballon d’Or, ironically, was Ronaldo in 2008 when this period of dominance between the pair started, and Haaland was not the man to break that spell. The Manchester City forward got as close to the award as Van Dijk, but ultimately had to settle for second-best for the time being.

It is hard to believe a man who scored 52 goals in all competitions during 2022/23 while helping his team to a historic treble wasn’t deemed the best player in the world over the 12-month period. Haaland could have become the first Man City player to have ever won the award and added them to the list of clubs with the most Ballon d’Or wins. Messi even mentioned the runner-up in his winning speech at the 2023 ceremony as he claimed:

“Haaland and Mbappe will win the Ballon d’Or one day. Erling deserved it very much too, he has won the Premier League, and Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too. I’m sure in the next years you will win it”.

Data via Topend Sports.