Ranking the 5 greatest attackers to win the Ballon d'Or in the 21st century
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had the honour of being the only two winners of the Ballon d'Or for a whole decade. This made the 21st century an era dominated by arguably the two best players the beautiful game has ever seen.
Prior to this era, multiple forwards surpassed expectations and were awarded the highest individual honor a football player could achieve. While they may not have performed at the same level as Ronaldo and Messi, they did massively contribute towards their clubs' domestic and international success.
On that note, we'll take a look at
5 greatest attackers to win the Ballon d'Or in the 21st century
#5 Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko was awarded the Ballon d'Or for his achievements in the 2003-04 season with AC Milan. The Ukrainian striker was in the prime of his career at the age of 26. He helped Milan gain silverware through his impeccable finishing in front of goal.
🗓 On this day in 2004, Andriy Shevchenko won the Ballon d'Or!
His 2003-04 season:
👤 45 games
⚽️ 29 goals
🏆 Serie A
🏆 UEFA Super Cup
One of the greats. 👏 https://t.co/jOoESxTAGs
Combining with new signing Kaka, Shevchenko managed to score 24 goals from 32 appearances in Serie A. He spearheaded Milan's dominance in the Italian top-flight league, where they ended 11 points above second-placed AS Roma.
Shevchenko celebrated a career total of 250 goals in 513 games. He won multiple league titles with AC Milan and Chelsea, adding a Champions League winner's medal to close off a successful career.
#4 Ronaldinho
Perhaps the greatest showman of his generation, 2005 Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho dazzled his way through all opposition as the chief creator of Barcelona's triumphant La Liga win.
Ronaldinho turns 41 today. His legacy is iconic:
▪️ 368 career goals & 15 trophies
▪️ 1 of only 8 players to win the World Cup, UCL & Ballon d'Or
▪️ 5x FIFA cover star
▪️ Starred in the first YouTube video to hit 1 million views
(🎥 via @ChampionsLeague) https://t.co/xQpZBvY92A
The 2004-05 season was iconic for the Brazilian playmaker. He was awarded the FIFA World player of the year award for being the spark in Brazil's FIFA Confederations Cup winning campaign. He also had an excellent start to Barcelona's eventual Champions League winning run in the 2005-06 season. These two factors made him the outright choice for the 2005 Ballon d'Or.
Ronaldinho ended up being one of the most decorated players of his time, winning 15 trophies with PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan.