Ballon d’Or: Players who could have won if Messi, Ronaldo didn’t exist

With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo out of the running, a new era has begun for the Ballon d’Or. For the first time since 2003, neither of these football icons made it onto this year’s shortlist. Between them, they’ve clinched the prestigious award 13 times—Messi holding eight of those, including a streak of four consecutive