Every player who would've won the Ballon d'Or if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never existed

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi dominated football for two decades and in turn, had a stranglehold over the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in that time.

The pair have won a combined 13 prizes, with Messi having won eight to his rival’s five.

Messi won a record-extending eight Ballon d’Or in 2023, beating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award, while Ronaldo won the last of his five back in 2017 while playing for Real Madrid.

Though the individual battle between Messi and Ronaldo has been one of football’s most intriguing subplots in the past 15 years, the Ballon d’Or award would have a far more varied list of winners if the pair had never existed.

Manchester City’s Haaland would have a Ballon d’Or, while former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar Jr would have two titles.

Every player who would've won the Ballon d'Or if Messi and Ronaldo never existed

The Messi-Ronaldo dominance began in 2008, when Ronaldo won the award ahead of the Argentine.

But Fernando Torres, who scored 33 goals in 46 games for Liverpool in the 2007/08 season, finished third in the voting and would have won it had the pair not existed.

Our Messi and Ronaldo-less existence would have then seen Barcelona legends Xavi and Andres Iniesta alternate winning the Ballon d'Or between 2009 and 2012.

Franck Ribery would've been crowned Ballon d'Or winner in 2013, while Manuel Neuer would've won it in 2014 to become the first goalkeeper to claim the coveted prize since Lev Yashin in 1963.

Neymar, who played with Messi at Barcelona, would've won two Ballon d'Or awards in three years.

Antoine Griezmann, Virgil van Dijk, Robert Lewandowski would've also won the Ballon d'Or if Messi and Ronaldo never existed.

Neymar would have won two Ballon d'Or titles if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never existed. Image: Getty

Full list below:

2008 - Fernando Torres

2009 - Xavi

2010 - Andres Iniesta

2011 - Xavi

2012 - Andres Iniesta

2013 - Franck Ribery

2014 - Manuel Neuer

2015 - Neymar

2016 - Antonie Griezmann

2017 - Neymar

2019 - Virgil van Dijk

2021 - Robert Lewandowski

2023 - Erling Haaland

• Pep Guardiola names pair who deserved to win Ballon d'Or but never did because of Messi and Ronaldo
• Paul Scholes predicted player to win Ballon d'Or ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi but it never happened
• The 10 players who would have won the Ballon d'Or if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo didn't exist
• Cristiano Ronaldo tipped five players to compete for 2025 Ballon d'Or but only one could still win it