The Ballon d'Or hasn't been won by a player has become so formulaic in recent years that it might as well be named the 'Ronaldo or Messi' Award. The last player to have won the prize was Brazilian superstar Kaka, and that was seven years ago. He is now 32 years old and back playing in Brazil, having been omitted from his country's squad for the World Cup. The rest of the shortlisted players know they are only there to buff up the numbers, and the highest they can realistically hope to aim for is third, behind the godlike duo who seem destined to fight it out each year until retirement. However, the Ballon d'Or wasn't always so predictable - indeed, it was often a genuine mystery as to who was even going to appear in the top three each year for a while. Michael Owen even lifted the gong 13 years ago. The real surprise packages lay in the rest of the shortlisted players, however. While they may not have been wholly shocking to have been selected those particular years - now that they have nearly all retired, one can evaluate their careers and surmise that there was simply a miscalculation when the powers-that-be through them forward to be in contention for a Ballon d'Or. Take a look at the ten players who you probably forgot were up for a Ballon d'Or award.
Recent Journalism & New Media graduate. Insatiable thirst for all things football, and hopes to break into the field of sports journalism in the near future.
Have made a significantly insignificant playing career out of receiving several slaps around the head for not passing the ball.
