The Top 15 'Best Players' From Every Ballon d'Or Since 2005

It's just a matter of days until the 65th annual Ballon d'Or ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris - and there is plenty of debate around who will win the coveted trophy.

The world's best players will come together to challenge for arguably the biggest individual prize in world football.

Lionel Messi is currently the bookies favourite to secure a seventh Ballon d'Or, while Bayern Munich and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski remains in the running alongside Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema and Jorginho.

In years gone by, it has become the norm to overshadow Ballon d'Or nominees, so we thought it was necessary to celebrate those who have received nominations but are often pushed to one side.

Here is every nominee from 1-15 since the year 2005. Make sure to look out for some surprise names throughout.

2005:

1. Ronaldinho
2. Frank Lampard
3. Steven Gerarrd
4. Thierry Henry
5. Andriy Shevchenko
6. Paolo Maldini
7. Adriano
8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
9. Kaka
10. Samuel Eto'o
11. John Terry
12. Juninho
13. Claude Makelele
14. Juan Roman Riquelme
15. Petr Cech

2006:

1. Fabio Cannavaro
2. Gianluigi Buffon
3. Thierry Henry
4. Ronaldinho
5. Zinedine Zidane
6. Samuel Eto'o
7. Miroslav Klose
8. Didier Drogba
9. Andrea Pirlo
10. Jens Lehmann
11. Deco
12. Kaka
13. Franck Ribery/Gattuso
14. Patrick Vieira
15. Cristiano Ronaldo

2007:

1. Kaka
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Lionel Messi
4. Didier Drogba
5. Andrea Pirlo
6. Ruud Van Nistelrooy
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
8. Cesc Fabregas
9. Robinho
10. Francesco Totti
11. Frederic Kanoute
12. Ronaldinho
13. Steven Gerrard
14. Juan Roman Riquelme
15. Dani Alves

2008:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Fernando Torres
4. Iker Casillas
5. Xavi
6. Andrey Arshavin
7. David Villa
8. Kaka
9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
10. Steven Gerrard
11. Marcos Senna
12. Emmanuel Adebayor
13. Wayne Rooney
14. Sergio Aguero
15. Frank Lampard

2009:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Xavi
4. Andres Iniesta
5. Samuel Eto'o
6. Kaka
7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
8. Wayne Rooney
9. Steven Gerrard
10. Didier Drogba
11. Fernando Torres
12. Cesc Febregas
13. Edin Dzeko
14. Ryan Giggs
15. Thierry Henry

2010:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Andres Iniesta
3. Xavi
4. Wesley Sneijder
5. Diego Forlan
6. Cristiano Ronaldo
7. Iker Casillas
8. David Villa
9. Didier Drogba
10. Xabi Alonso
11. Carles Puyol
12. Samuel Eto'o
13. Mesut Ozil
14. Arjen Robben
15. Thomas Muller

2011:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Xavi
4. Andres Iniesta
5. Wayne Rooney
6. Luis Suarez
7. Diego Forlan
8. Samuel Eto'o
9. Iker Casillas
10. Neymar
11. Mesut Ozil
12. Wesley Sneijder
13. Thomas Muller
14. David Villa
15. Bastian Schweinsteiger

2012:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Andres Iniesta
4. Xavi
5. Radamel Falcao
6. Iker Casillas
7. Andrea Pirlo
8. Didier Drogba
9. Robin Van Persie
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
11. Xabi Alonso
12. Yaya Toure
13. Neymar
14. Mesut Ozil
15. Wayne Rooney
    
    Image: PA

2013:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Franck Ribery
4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
5. Neymar
6. Andres Iniesta
7. Robin Van Persie
8. Arjen Robben
9. Gareth Bale
10. Andrea Pirlo
11. Radamel Falcao
12. Yaya Toure
13. Robert Lewandowski
14. Phillip Lahm
15. Xavi

2014:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Manuel Neuer
4. Arjen Robben
5. Thomas Muller
6. Phillip Lahm
7. Neymar
8. James Rodriguez
9. Toni Kroos
10. Angel Di Maria
11. Diego Costa
12. Gareth Bale
13. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
14. Yaya Toure
15. Mario Gotze
    
    Image: PA

2015:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Neymar
4. Robert Lewandowski
5. Luis Suarez
6. Thomas Muller
7. Manuel Neuer
8. Eden Hazard
9. Andres Iniesta
10. Alexis Sanchez
11. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
12. Yaya Toure
13. Sergio Aguero
14. Javier Mascherano
15. Paul Pogba

2016:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Antoine Greizmann
4. Luis Suarez
5. Neymar
6. Gareth Bale
7. Riyad Mahrez
8. Jamie Vardy
9. Gianluigi Buffon
10. Pepe
11. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang
12. Rui Patricio
13. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
14. Paul Pogba
15. Arturo Vidal

2017:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo
2. Lionel Messi
3. Neymar
4. Gianluigi Buffon
5. Luka Modric
6. Sergio Ramos
7. Kylian Mbappe
8. N'Golo Kante
9. Robert Lewandowski
10. Harry Kane
11. Edinson Cavani
12. Isco
13. Luis Suarez
14. Kevin de Bruyne
15. Paulo Dybala

2018:

1. Luka Modric
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
3. Antoine Griezmann
4. Kylian Mbappe
5. Lionel Messi
6. Mohamed Salah
7. Raphael Varane
8. Eden Hazard
9. Kevin de Bruyne
10. Harry Kane
11. N'Golo Kante
12. Neymar
13. Luis Suarez
14. Thibaut Courtois
15. Paul Pogba

Who do you think will win the 2021 Ballon d'Or?

Let us know in the comments.