Fernando Torres, Neymar, and more: Who would have been the Ballon d'Or winners if Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not exist
Since Cristiano Ronaldo first won the coveted Ballon d’Or in 2008, the award has been dominated by the Portuguese superstar and his rival Lionel Messi.
Messi recently picked up his eighth trophy, moving clear of Cristiano Ronaldo who has five to his name. In short Messi and Ronaldo have monopolised football’s most prestigious individual award of late with only Luka Modric and Karim Benzema being able to break their stranglehold on the Ballon d’Or.
In this article we hypothetically remove Ronaldo and Messi from Ballon d’Or history to see which players could have won the award if the duo hadn’t played in this time.
2008 – Fernando Torres wins Ballon d'Or
Removing Messi and Ronaldo from the equation sees Fernando Torres win the Ballon d'Or in 2008 after an outstanding debut season in the Premier League with Liverpool. Torres made the transition to the Premier League look easy scoring 33 goals in all competitions. He also thrived at international level, winning Euro 2008 with Spain, and scoring the winning goal in the final against Germany.
2009 – Assist king Xavi triumphs
Barcelona and Spain legend, Xavi, would have been a worthy Ballon d'Or winner in 2009, recognition for a season that saw him win a historic treble of La Liga, Copa Del Rey and UEFA Champions League. Xavi played 54 times, scored 10 goals and contributed a scarcely believable tally of 31 assists.
2010 – Andres Iniesta wins after World Cup success
2010 would have seen back to back Ballon d'Or success for Barcelona with Andres Iniesta coming out on top in that year’s voting. While there was the league title success with Barcelona, it was his exploits with Spain that would have seen him crowned the Ballon d'Or winner as he scored the winning goal in the World Cup final.
2011- Xavi completes Ballon d'Or double
Xavi would complete a Barcelona hat-trick of winners in 2011, becoming a two-time Ballon d'Or winner after securing a La Liga and UEFA Champions League double with Barcelona. Xavi was an integral part of the success, contributing five goals and 15 assists in 50 appearances.
2012 – Andres Iniesta follows in Xavi's footsteps
The two Spanish midfield greats would continue to share the award with Iniesta following in Xavi’s footsteps and becoming a two-time Ballon d’Or winner in 2012 after winning Euro 2012 with Spain, and the Copa Del Rey with Barcelona.
2013 – Franck Ribery wins quadruple with Bayern Munich
2013 would see Franck Ribery crowned the Ballon d'Or winner after a stellar individual and club season with Bayern Munich, playing 43 games as Bayern won the quadruple of Bundesliga, German Cup, German Super Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Ribery scored 10 goals and contributed 23 assists in a remarkable season.
2014 – Manuel Neuer achieves rare keeper Ballon d'Or victory
Manuel Neuer is one of the greatest goalkeepers to ever play the game and winning the FIFA World Cup with Germany and the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich would have been enough to secure Neuer the 2014 Ballon d’Or. He kept 25 clean sheets in 51 appearances as Bayern also added the German Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup trophies.
2015 – Neymar fulfills potential
Neymar was long touted as the long-term successor to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and if it hadn’t been for those two Neymar would have picked up the first Ballon d’Or of his career in 2015 after an incredible season alongside Messi and Luis Suarez for Barcelona. Neymar scored 39 goals and contributed 10 assists as Barcelona won the treble under Luis Enrique.
2016 – Antoine Griezmann gets recognition
Antoine Griezmann has been one of the greatest attacking talents for club and country for the last decade and in 2016 he was part of the French side that came so close to winning Euro 2016 on home soil, losing 1-0 in the final to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Griezmann was outstanding for Athletico Madrid, scoring 32 goals and adding seven assists and would have been a worthy winner of the 2016 Ballon d'Or.
2017 – Neymar adds another
Neymar would pick up his second Ballon D’Or in 2017 after scoring 20 goals and adding 26 assists in 45 appearances for Barcelona. The highlight of his season was his astonishing performance in ‘La Remontada’ against PSG as they overturned a 4-0 deficit in the last-16 of the UEFA Champions League winning 6-1 in the second leg with Neymar scoring twice and assisting twice.
2019 – Virgil Van Dijk triumphs
It was an all English UEFA Champions League final in 2019 with Liverpool emerging victorious over Tottenham Hotspur. Virgil Van Dijk was the cornerstone of that success and would have been a worthy Ballon d’Or winner as he was undoubtedly one of the best defenders in the world at that time. Van Dijk played 50 games in all competitions, also contributing six goals and four assists as Liverpool were crowned European football’s top dogs once again.
2021 – Robert Lewandowski confirms place as one of game's greatest
Robert Lewandowski is one of the greatest centre-forwards to ever play the game and 2021 could have been the year that saw him crowned winner of the Ballon d’Or. In his penultimate season with Bayern Munich, Lewandowski scored 48 goals in 40 appearances in all competitions as Bayern won the Bundesliga, FIFA Club World Cup, German Super Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
2023 – Erling Haaland completes treble with Manchester City and wins first Ballon d'Or
Erling Haaland looks set to be the greatest goalscorer of his generation and in 2023 he was the final piece of the puzzle as Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City won the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances and added nine assists as the club also won the Premier League and FA Cup.