10 Players You Forgot Were Nominated For Ballon d'Or

10. Marcos Senna (Villarreal) - 2008

No man could possibly stop the goalscoring behemoth that was Manchester United€™s Champions League-winning Cristiano Ronaldo from scooping the prize. While Euro 2008 served as a platform for the likes of Fernando Torres, Xavi and Andrei Arshavin to considerably boost their standings in the Ballon d€™Or rankings, the Portuguese superstar still ended up dwarfing runner-up Lionel Messi€™s total by 446 points to 281. However, at number 11 on the list with 16 points to his name was Marcos Senna - one of the first players to begin Spain€™s unyieldingly successful regime. The Villarreal stalwart, who had only made his international bow two years earlier at the age of 30, had served as the perfect anti-thesis to the Spanish duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta€™s intuitive tiki-taka style of football had Euro 2004.

''My style is simple. I don۪t like when players try to do easy things in a complicated way. The others help me in my role, but the important factor is that there is a lot of quality in our team and the opponents are worried about all our midfielders.۪۪ - Marcos Senna, July 2008.

By breaking up play and allowing his more talented compatriots to play their expansive football, Senna proved to be a crucial cog in the Spanish machine at Euro 2008, and his influence certainly didn€™t go unnoticed, as he was voted into the Team of the Tournament and shortlisted for the most coveted individual accolade in football.

''I hope he wins Player of the Tournament because that would mean Spain have done well. He does not have much press because he is a new face and he comes from outside, but he does a fantastic job for us and is a wonderful guy. We know his importance.۪۪ - Iker Casillas, July 2008.