{"id":3266,"date":"2017-02-08T18:28:02","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T23:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=3266"},"modified":"2017-02-08T18:28:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T23:28:02","slug":"ballon-dor-looked-without-ronaldo-messi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2017\/02\/08\/ballon-dor-looked-without-ronaldo-messi\/","title":{"rendered":"How the Ballon d\u2019Or would have looked without Ronaldo and Messi"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was announced earlier this week<\/a> that legendary Bayern Munich and Germany captain Philipp Lahm will retire at the season\u2019s end. It is quite amazing that a player who has accomplished so much in his career has never come close to winning the Ballon d\u2019Or. Despite being captain of World Cup and Champions League winning sides, Lahm has never finished higher than sixth in the rankings.<\/p>\n

This is possibly because he has played as a defender for most of his career. Since the late Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award in 1956, only four players classed as a defensive player have won it. U.S.S.R legend Lev Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have claimed the Ballon d\u2019Or, in 1963. Germany legend Franz Beckenbaur won it twice, in 1972 and 1976, and his compatriot Matthias Sammer scooped the award in 1996. Italian World Cup winning captain Fabio Cannavaro was the last non-attacking player to win it, in 2006.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the Ballon d\u2019Or has generally become a two horse race between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. When Cannavaro won the trophy just over ten years ago, it was the last time that the top three featured neither of those two players. Since then, there has only been one occasion where anyone other than Ronaldo or Messi finished as high as a runner-up, in 2010. The list below shows how the rankings would have gone over the last decade had both of those players chosen different careers. It is based on who finished behind them in the rankings, usually fourth or fifth place.<\/p>\n

2007: Kak\u00e1 (AC Milan)<\/h4>\n

Kak\u00e1 was the last player other than Ronaldo or Messi to win the Ballon d\u2019Or. The Brazilian enjoyed a fantastic season, and was the heartbeat behind Milan\u2019s 7th<\/sup> European crown. This was illustrated superbly by his almost one man destruction of Manchester United in the semi-final. After scoring twice at Old Trafford in the first leg, he added another in the San Siro just for good measure.<\/p>\n

The only thing that would have been different in this season would have been the second and third place rankings. Chelsea\u2019s Didier Drogba would have replaced Ronaldo as runner up, with Kak\u00e1\u2019s club-mate Andrea Pirlo finishing third instead of Messi.<\/p>\n

2008: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)<\/h4>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s 42 goals saw him fire Manchester United to a Premier League and Champions League double in 2008. As a result, he received double the amount of votes that second placed Messi did.<\/p>\n

An absence of those two players would have seen Fernando Torres crowned the best footballer on the planet. His debut season for Liverpool saw him net 33 times from 46 games in all competitions. At the time there were few deadlier strikers in the world, hard as it seems to believe given his struggles in recent years. It would have been a Spanish clean sweep that year, as Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and Barcelona\u2019s Xavi would have scooped second and third place, respectively.<\/p>\n

2009: Xavi (Barcelona)<\/h4>\n

It was no surprise that four of the top five players were from Barcelona, given that they won six trophies in 2009. Without Messi (winner) and Ronaldo (runner-up), the Ballon d\u2019Or would have gone to midfield maestro Xavi. His masterful performance in the Champions League final against Manchester United was one of the main factors in their victory.<\/p>\n

Second place would have gone to his midfield partner Andr\u00e9s Iniesta, who helped him dominate United\u2019s midfield in that final. Cameroon striker Samuel Eto\u2019o scored the first goal in Rome that night. His third place finish would have seen Barcelona scoop all of the individual honours, as well as the team ones.<\/p>\n

2010: Andr\u00e9s Iniesta\u00a0(Barcelona)<\/h4>\n

This was the only year since 2007 that Cristiano Ronaldo hasn\u2019t finished in the top two positions. Despite scoring 33 goals from 35 games in his debut season at Real Madrid, he slipped to sixth in the Ballon d\u2019Or rankings. Andr\u00e9s Iniesta scored the goal that saw Spain claim their first ever World Cup. Had it not been for Messi, he would have won the award in 2010.<\/p>\n

Xavi would have claimed second place after another excellent year alongside Iniesta for club and country. Third place would have gone to Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder. His role was pivotal in Inter Milan winning the Champions League, and Holland finishing runners-up in the World Cup. It\u2019s also interesting to see that, without the two legendary forwards, the top three places would have gone to midfielders.<\/p>\n

2011: Xavi\u00a0(Barcelona)<\/h4>\n

It is no surprise that Barcelona\u2019s players feature so highly around this period, given how they dominated European football at the time. Xavi capped another fantastic season with yet another dominant Champions League final display against Manchester United. Without Messi to spoil the party for him, this would have been his second Ballon d\u2019Or in three years.<\/p>\n

Iniesta would have replaced Ronaldo in second place once again. Despite a turbulent campaign, United\u2019s Wayne Rooney would have finished in third. Some memorable goals in the second half of the season, notably his overhead kick against Manchester City, saw him climb the rankings.<\/p>\n

2012: Andr\u00e9s Iniesta\u00a0(Barcelona)<\/h4>\n

Once again, Iniesta and Xavi take the top two positions despite Barcelona winning neither La Liga nor the Champions League. In reality, this was Lionel Messi\u2019s fourth Ballon d\u2019Or in a row, showing just what an incredible player he is.<\/p>\n

The third place for 2012 would have gone to Colombian striker Radamel Falcao. His first season at Atl\u00e9tico Madrid saw him score 36 goals in all competitions. Twelve of these were in the Europa League, which Atl\u00e9tico won for the second time in three seasons, two of them coming in the final against Athletic Bilbao.<\/p>\n

2013: Franck Rib\u00e9ry\u00a0(Bayern Munich)<\/h4>\n

Bayern Munich\u2019s treble of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and Champions League saw French attacker Franck Rib\u00e9ry in stunning form. Only Ronaldo, with his first award in five years, and second placed Messi prevented him from lifting football\u2019s highest individual honour.<\/p>\n

Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s Zlatan Ibrahimovi\u0107 would have claimed second place in Messi\u2019s absence, with 35 goals in his debut season in France. Third in the rankings would have been Brazilian striker Neymar, for whom 2013 was split between Santos and Barcelona. His performances at club level were complemented by his role in Brazil winning the Confederations Cup. In addition to scoring four goals in the competition, he was named Player of the Tournament.<\/p>\n

2014: Manuel Neuer\u00a0(Bayern Munich)<\/h4>\n

Germany\u2019s victory at the 2014 World Cup means it comes as no surprise that one of their players would have won the Ballon d\u2019Or if Ronaldo hadn\u2019t been there to claim the prize. It would surprise many, however, that the winner would have been the first goalkeeper to do so in more than fifty years. The Bayern Munich shot stopper capped a fine season at the Allianz Arena by lifting the biggest trophy in football.<\/p>\n

Replacing Messi in second place would have been Dutch winger Arjen Robben. His mesmerising performances for Holland saw them reach the semi-finals. They lost to Argentina on penalties, but Robben was shortlisted for the FIFA Golden Ball award for the tournaments best player. In third, to cap what would have been total Bayern domination, would be Germany striker Thomas M\u00fcller. He scored five goals on the way to the final, and was also on the Golden Ball list.<\/p>\n

2015: Neymar\u00a0(Barcelona)<\/h4>\n

Neymar would have been the winner in 2015, replacing his club-mate Messi. He scored 39 goals in all competitions, one of them in the Champions League final victory against Juventus. These goals also helped Barcelona reclaim La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, securing another domestic treble.<\/p>\n

Second place would have seen Polish striker Robert Lewandowski replace Ronaldo. In addition to the 25 goals he scored for Bayern Munich, he also set an international scoring record. He scored thirteen goals as his country qualified for Euro 2016. Nobody has ever scored more goals in a European Championship qualifying campaign. Third place would have gone to Luis Su\u00e1rez, with his 25 goals from his debut season at Barcelona a vital part of their success that year<\/p>\n

2016: Antoine Griezmann (Atl\u00e9tico Madrid)<\/h4>\n

Portugal\u2019s victorious Euro 2016 campaign and Real Madrid\u2019s eleventh Champions League crown no doubt helped sway the vote in Ronaldo\u2019s favour. This should not, however, take anything away from a fantastic year for Antoine Griezmann. He scored 32 goals for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, one of them in the final against Real. He also finished up as the top scorer at the European Championships, and won Player of the Tournament. Were it not for the Ballon d\u2019Or domination by Ronaldo and Messi, he would have added this to his list of accolades.<\/p>\n

Messi would once again have been replaced by one of his club team-mates, this time for second place. On this occasion it would have been Luis Su\u00e1rez, who hit an incredible 59 goals from just 53 appearances. Neymar would have been in third place, with 34 goals to help Barcelona to a second successive La Liga and Copa Del Rey double.<\/p>\n

How the Ballon d\u2019Or would have looked without Ronaldo and Messi<\/h4>\n

The above list shows just exactly how amazing both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been over the last decade. Their exploits have kept some fantastic players from claiming world football\u2019s most prestigious honour. Any of them would have made a worthy Ballon d\u2019Or winner.<\/p>\n

Had Ronaldo and Messi played in different eras, there would be no argument about who the world best player is. Considering that for most of the last ten years they have occupied the top two positions in the Ballon d\u2019Or results, this would have seen the same player winning it year after year. At least the two of them playing at the same time breaks it up a bit.<\/p>\n

With Ronaldo now in his thirties, and Messi approaching them, it\u2019s safe to say that they won\u2019t dominate the Ballon d\u2019Or forever. Some of the players listed above are still young enough and good enough to ensure that happens. There are other players, such as Gareth Bale for example, who will also fancy their chances. But there can be no doubt that players such as Iniesta, Rib\u00e9ry and Robben have certainly missed their chance. Messi and Ronaldo have seen to that.<\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n