The Next 10 Winners Of The Ballon d'Or Were Predicted Back in 2012

Bleacher Report predicted the next 10 Ballon d'Or winners back in 2012 and it's safe to say they didn't expect Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's domination.

Since 2010, longtime rivals Ronaldo and Messi have won the Ballon d'Or every year apart from 2018, which saw Luka Modric get the nod.

The predictions did feature wins for the duo, but 2013 marked Messi's final Ballon d'Or with Ronaldo's coming in 2014.

Check out the predictions below, along with the actual results of that year's Ballon d'Or vote.

2012

Prediction: Lionel Messi

Result: Lionel Messi

2013

Prediction: 1.) Lionel Messi, 2.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 3.) Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Result: 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 2.) Lionel Messi, 3.) Franck Ribery

2014

Prediction: 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 2.) Sergio Aguero, 3.) Mario Balotelli

Result: 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 2.) Lionel Messi, 3.) Manuel Neuer

2015

Prediction: 1.) Mesut Ozil, 2.) Karim Benzema, 3.) Gareth Bale

Result: 1.) Lionel Messi, 2.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 3.) Neymar

2016

Prediction: 1.) Mario Balotelli, 2.) Gonzalo Higuain, 3.) Eden Hazard

Result: 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 2.) Lionel Messi, 3.) Antoine Griezmann

2017

Prediction: 1.) Eden Hazard, 2.) Thomas Muller, 3.) Aaron Ramsey

Result: 1.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 2.) Lionel Messi, 3.) Neymar

2018

Prediction: 1.) Neymar, 2.) Marco Reus, 3.) Leandro Damiao

Result: 1.) Luka Modric, 2.) Cristiano Ronaldo, 3.) Antoine Griezmann

2019

Prediction: 1.) Oscar, 2.) Jack Wilshere, 3.) Neymar

Result: 1.) Lionel Messi, 1.) Virgil van Dijk, 3.) Cristiano Ronaldo

2020

Prediction: 1.) Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 2.) Lucas Moura, 3.) Mario Gotze

2021

Prediction: 1.) Iker Muniain, 2.) Thiago Alcantara, 3.) Souleymane Coulibaly

NUMBER OF CORRECT PREDICTED WINNERS: 2/10

A few of these predictions seemed spot on at the time, while some of them will leave fans scratching their head.

Two of the most likely predictions were Eden Hazard and Neymar.

Both men had burst onto the world scene in 2012, with Hazard sealing a move to Chelsea and Neymar moving to Barcelona one year later.

Hazard and Neymar now find themselves at Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, and have achieved huge success in their careers.

However, the ability of Messi and Ronaldo has seen them continue to outshine the 'next generation'.

Bizarre names in the predictions include Leandro Damiao coming third in 2018, as well as Iker Muniain winning it in 2021.

It just goes to show how quickly football can change and how a new superstar can be born.

What bizarre predictions have you had for Ballon d'Or winners?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: Footy Renders

Topics: Football News, Football, France Football, Ballon d'Or

Daniel Marland

Daniel is a journalist for SPORTbible and he has previous experience with Manchester United. He has spoken to some of the biggest names in sport including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch, WWE COO Triple H and WWE legend The Undertaker. May or may not do a decent impression of Jamie Carragher.

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