Every Ballon d’Or Runners Up From the Messi-Ronaldo Era

Who would've won the Ballon d'Or if Messi and Ronaldo didn't exist?

Neymar Jr. | source: Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been the pinnacle of world football for the past two and a half decades. Both players have shown us over the years what they can do on the pitch that arguably not many players can. There is a reason why they are called the GOATs of this sport, with countless records broken by each one of them—records that would probably have remained untouched, far less broken, if these two players didn’t exist. Many young players have either Messi or Ronaldo as their idols and understandably so, the two have

Both Messi and Ronaldo have now left European football but not without conquering it. Between the two players, they have won 9 UEFA Champions League titles and a staggering 13 Ballon d’Or. considering these two never played for the same team, this record shows how they left no space for any other top player to cross them at almost all times.

So that begs the question, who were the players that would’ve called best in the world if Messi and Ronaldo didn’t exist? Today we will go through each year Messi or Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or and see which players came out 2nd best, we will exclude if one of these two came runners up which was in many cases. So let’s go through the Messi-Ronaldo era and see which players missed out on the Ballon d’Or because of the greatness of these two legends.

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2008: Fernando Torres

One of the best number 9 the sport has seen, Fernando Torres was the first player to witness the Messi-Ronaldo Era. The Spanish striker scored 33 goals in the premier league for Liverpool in his debut season for the club. He was also a part of Spain’s winning squad. For a player, these stats tell you that the player had an amazing year as a striker. It does qualify him for a Ballon d’Or, But Cristiano Ronaldo had an even better year, almost perfect in fact. The Champions League trophy along with the 35 goals Ronaldo scored that year made sure to push Torres down the ranking. If it hadn’t been for the brilliant year Ronaldo and Messi had, Torres would have won it deservedly.

2009: Xavi

Xavi is among the best midfielder of all time and was a part of the golden era of FC Barcelona. Many argue that he deserved to have at least one Ballon d’Or to his name. In 2009 Xavi came closest to grabbing the award. The Spanish midfielder was an exceptional player as well as a leader among the Barcelona squad that won the Champions League that year. But sadly for him, Lionel Messi was untouchable that year scoring 41 times, 11 more than Ronaldo. This closed any windows for Xavi to win the award. Xavi was influential for the Barcelona team that won the European competition that year and if it wasn’t for Messi’s wonderful season, he would have definitely been the fitting man for the award.

2010: Andrés Iniesta

Andres Iniesta in the World Cup 2010 | source: Getty Images

Andrés Iniesta also falls into the category of legendary midfielders who missed out on this glorious award. Andres Iniesta is one of the best midfielders of all time, some would argue he was better than Xavi. But that really isn’t the topic of this piece. What’s notable is that even with his iconic goal vs Netherlands that won Spain the World Cup, Iniesta failed to win the Ballon d’Or. In 2010 he came close to the honor, coming runner-up ahead of Xavi but was beaten by another brilliant season Messi. It is fair to say Iniesta is definitely among the top players to have never won the Ballon d’Or and if Messi weren’t the player he was, Iniesta would’ve won the award for sure.

2011: Xavi

Xavi comes up on this list yet another time. It definitely shows that Xavi would’ve won the trophy even at least one time without the presence of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Xavi was part of the iconic Barcelona squad that still gets talked about. He was part of that iconic midfield trio scoring 14 goals and assisting 15 times but most important above that was the role he played for the team. He was an irremovable part of that squad. His performance put him behind Messi and Ronaldo, both of whom performed exceptionally well, scoring 59 and 60 goals in that season. So yet another time Xavi missed out on the Ballon d’Or.

[Read more: Champions League matchday 2 debrief ]

2012: Andrés Iniesta

The success Barcelona had in the 2011 season was followed up by a Laliga win and a pretty good run in the Champions League. This meant another entry from the Barcelona squad. Andrés Iniesta makes his second appearance on this list. Another year, a legendary player was deprived of the Prestigious award. It is fair to say that Andrés Iniesta and Xavi making two appearances on this list says that they were both more than qualified for one or two Ballon d’Or. Although it is worth mentioning Messi’s stats which was out of this world, 91 goals were scored in that calendar season. This stat alone sealed the spot for Messi, which meant despite having 22 assists that season, Andrés Iniesta missed out on the Ballon d’Or.

2013: Frank Ribery

Franck Ribéry for Bayern Munich in 2013 was unstoppable. Ribéry scored 26 goals and gave assisted 27 assists making him one of the best players of that season. With the Champions League title, Ribery was a top contender for the 2013 Ballon d’Or. Bayern’s campaign in 2013 is quite famous even today with the infamous win over Barcelona. Ribéry was an important part of that squad in the attack even going out of his comfort zone to help out the team in defending transition. Ribéry would have won the award if Ronaldo didn’t have an even better season than him despite not winning the Champions League. With 69 goals scored in that calendar year, Ronaldo still had the spotlight from Ribéry and won the award. Taking out Ronaldo from the equation definitely puts Ribéry as the potential winner.

2014: Manual Neuer

Manual Neuer is arguably the best modern goalkeeper and definitely one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. In 2014 Germany won the World Cup and Neuer was a massive part of the winning squad. Domestically he was also really good at keeping 20 clean sheets which helped Bayern win the Bundesliga title that year. Neuer was an exceptional player and could have been the 2nd goalkeeper to win the award. As usual, Ronaldo with his remarkable season scoring 61 goals and winning the Champions League picks up the Ballon d’Or and another great player misses out on the award.

2015: Neymar

It is surprising to see Neymar coming into this list so late. The player has always been in conversation with Messi and Ronaldo. The player with his unbelievable skills was captivated by many fans across the world. Neymar suffered from so many injuries that it pushed him back in the countenance of the Ballon d’Or. But in 2015, Neymar came closest to cementing his name into this prestigious award. He scored 39 goals and assisted 10 while winning the treble that year. But he came short because of another brilliant season by Lionel Messi, one of his teammates for Barcelona. It is safe to say that Neymar would have probably won the award arguably even multiple times if it weren’t for the brilliance of Messi and Ronaldo.

[Read more: Ronaldo’s Ground Breaking Performance ]

2016: Antoine Griezmann

is a new name and not many people would think he will be on this list. but it wasn’t for nothing. He was the top scorer of Euro 2016 scoring 26 times and assisting 12. Griezmann was different that year showing his talent and being one of the top sports at that time. Griezmann despite being new to the Messi-Ronaldo era managed to come in third place behind Ronaldo and Messi. It’s safe to say Griezmann probably would’ve won the award that year.

2017: Neymar

Unsurprisingly once again making a cameo in this list Neymar comes up again. We previously talked about how the player was deprived of the award due to bad luck and a bad injury history. Even with all that struggle, Neymar managed to be the 3rd player in the Ballon d’Or rankings with 20 goals and 26 assists, taking out Messi and Ronaldo he performed better than almost all the other top players that season. In other terms, he would’ve definitely won the award if it wasn’t for either Ronaldo or Messi.

2019: Virgil Van Dijk

Virgil Van Dijk had an amazing year in 2019 winning the Champions League and the Premier League. This put Virgil Van Dijk on the top 3 of the Ballon d’Or list. The defender was influential for the team helping out in crucial situations which earned him that position. But once again, it’s Messi who steals the spotlight with his incredible performance that year. This meant Virgil Van Dijk, a defender who worked hard to put himself out there, missed out on being the modern defender to win the award.

2021: Robert Lewandowski

One of the most heated arguments regarding Ballon d’Or was in 2021. Robert Lewandowski, enjoying an amazing year scoring 48 goals and 55 in the previous season when the Ballon d’Or was canceled due to COVID-19. He was many fans’s choice to win the award. But to everyone’s shock, Messi won the award for the 8th time. Many fans were furious with the decision. Not because Messi didn’t deserve it, but it seemed Lewandowski deserved it more. Regardless of that, it’s clear that Lewandowski would’ve definitely won the Ballon d’Or if Messi hadn’t won the Copa America that year.

The prestigious award had many great players competing for it and sadly for some, it was never meant to be. When it came to competing with either Messi or Ronaldo, many greats or even legends struggled to outshine the two of them. It became so rare to see other players win the Ballon d’Or in this time period that this list was put together to see who were the other exceptional players at that time. It’s been fun to look back in time to relive some of the greats of this sport. Be sure to tune in for the next time when we bring more football-related content to you.