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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the two greatest competitors in the history of football.
Of course that's up for a debate but plenty of the stats that would back up that argument are in favour of the two behemoths of the sport. Between them, they have 12 Ballon d'Or awards and begun their rivalry over the prestigious trophy back in 2008 when the Portuguese superstar pipped the Argentine hero to the award.
Since then, they've gone back and forth in their acceptance of the title and have routinely left truly world-class players without a deserved Ballon d'Or due to their sheer absurdity of excellence on the pitch. A world without Messi and Ronaldo is truly not worth living in but if there was such a world, there would be a host of players lining up to collect their golden ball as Daily Star Sport takes a look at who those players would be.
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Fernando Torres
The Spaniard came third in the 2008 Ballon d'Or voting with 179 votes after a stunning debut season with Liverpool where he 33 goals in 46 games for the Reds. Torres announced himself in the Premier League as one of the best strikers in the world at just 23 years old.
His 24 goals in the league was the most for a foreign goal scorer in a debut season in England as he broke Ruud Van Nistelrooy's 23-goal record he set at Manchester United. Unfortunately for El Nino, his performances didn't equate to trophies with Liverpool that season as he also missed out on the PFA Player of the Year award which was won by Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Xavi
Xavi is perhaps the most unlucky player to live in the Messi/Ronaldo era as the Barcelona legend finished third three years in a row (2009 – 2011) in the Ballon d'Or voting as each time, his then-Barcelona team-mate, won on every occasion.
Banter was surely shared between the pair but the midfield icon would have disappointed not to have claimed at least one of the awards given his importance in the Barcelona team that won six trophies in the 2008/09 season under Pep Guardiola.
Andres Iniesta
Xavi wasn't the only Barcelona player pipped to the award by Messi as his club and international team Andres Iniesta was victim to the dominance of Messi and Ronaldo as he finished below them in the 2012 voting of the Ballon d'Or where the Inter Miami forward claimed his fourth one.
Iniesta's 16-year professional career at his boyhood club was littered with honours as well as his international career with Spain where he scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final as well as claiming two European championships. For the 39-year-old, the Ballon d'Or was the one that got away.
Franck Ribery
The Bayern Munich legend narrowly missed out on the Ballon d'Or in 2013 as he claimed just over 23% of the vote which was 1% less than Messi and 4% less than Ronaldo who claimed his second title.
Ribery certainly had a compelling case for the award as he was coming off a Treble-winning season with the Bundesliga club where he scored 11 goals and racked up 23 assists in 46 games that season.
Manuel Neuer
Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all-time, Manuel Neuer was aiming to become just the second goalkeeper – after Lev Yashin – to win the Ballon d'Or – but he eventually finish third in 2014 where Ronaldo scored a second consecutive award.
The Bayern Munich keeper has been awarded the UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper five times each in his stellar career that includes two Trebles with the Bundesliga giants as well as a World Cup with Germany in 2014.
Neymar
For much of his career in Europe, Neymar has been regarded by many as the third best player in the world with the potential to surpass Messi and Ronaldo due to his younger age. In both 2015 and 2017, he finished third in the Ballon d'Or voting which suggested he was on his way to becoming the undisputed best.
However, a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain and constant injuries stopped Neymar from achieving the ultimate goal of being labelled 'the best in the world' and at 31 years old, he now plays for Al-Hilal in the Saudi Pro League.
Antoine Griezmann
Antoine Griezmann was close to joining an elite group of Frenchmen to win a Ballon d'Or that is housed by the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini and Karim Benzema but was foiled by the improbable duo of Messi and Ronaldo in 2016.
The Atletico Madrid legend is as influential for his club as he is for his country where he's made 125 appearances and was a key member of their 2018 World Cup winning squad in a tournament where he scored four goals.
Virgil van Dijk
You rarely see a defender in contention for a Ballon d'Or which made Virgil van Dijk's second-place finish in the 2019 voting of the award a special moment. The Liverpool captain finished with just seven less votes than Messi who claimed his sixth award.
The centre back was the catalyst for Liverpool winning the 2018/19 Champions League where they scored a famous 4-0 win over Messi's Barcelona to reach the final despite trailing 3-0 in the first leg.
Robert Lewandowski
The Barcelona striker certainly had a case to feel aggrieved not to win the Ballon d'Or in 2021 when he narrowly finished second to Messi. Lewandowski and Bayern Munich had won six titles across the 2020 calendar year where he netted a ridiculous 55 goals in all competitions.
He would have become the first Polish player to win the prestigious award but unfortunately when you play in the same era as someone like Messi – who is the favourite to claim his eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday (October 30) – it sometimes doesn't play out well for you.
- Lionel Messi
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Virgil van Dijk
- Liverpool FC
- Real Madrid FC
- Barcelona FC
- Atletico Madrid FC
- Neymar
- Bayern Munich FC
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