5 of the biggest Ballon d'Or upsets in recent years

The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award football has to offer. Many great players have won it over the years. However, there have also been cases when the most deserving player was denied the honour. Sometimes, a team plays magnificently and yet lose because of some last minute deflected goal. Similarly, when it comes to awards, less deserving people win them every now and then and it is no different here.Here are five such cases when the eventual runners-up were initial favourites to take hom the prize.

#1 2006: Ronaldinho

There are some players in this world who are loved even by the fans of their fiercest rival. One such player was Ronaldinho. He remains, one of few opposing players to get a standing ovation at the Bernabeu. And it happened in his best season as a Barcelona player – the 2005/06 season.

Ronaldinho made us dream. He made us believe that football is one of the easiest sports there is. When the ball was at his feet, he weaved magic with it. As if it was an extension of his leg, as if his brain commanded it to move around according to his wish.

2006 was his best year as a footballer. After winning the Champions League and La Liga with Barcelona, he went on to score 14 goals in the first 20 games of the 2006/07 season, making 2006 his landmark year. Even though he had an average World Cup with Brazil, he was quite arguably the best player all year.

In the end, Fabio Cannavaro won the trophy after an astute World Cup. What is intriguing is the fact that the World Cup lasts just a month, spanning 7 games for a team that makes the final, while Ronaldinho performed much better in the remaining 50 odd games that year.

It seem as though having a good World Cup is all that is needed to win the Ballon d’Or unless you are...