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Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have had the honour of being the only two winners of the Ballon d'Or for a whole decade. This made the 21st century an era dominated by arguably the two best players the beautiful game has ever seen.
Prior to this era, multiple forwards surpassed expectations and were awarded the highest individual honor a football player could achieve. While they may not have performed at the same level as Ronaldo and Messi, they did massively contribute towards their clubs' domestic and international success.
On that note, we'll take a look at
5 greatest attackers to win the Ballon d'Or in the 21st century
#5 Andriy Shevchenko
Andriy Shevchenko was awarded the Ballon d'Or for his achievements in the 2003-04 season with AC Milan. The Ukrainian striker was in the prime of his career at the age of 26. He helped Milan gain silverware through his impeccable finishing in front of goal.
Combining with new signing Kaka, Shevchenko managed to score 24 goals from 32 appearances in Serie A. He spearheaded Milan's dominance in the Italian top-flight league, where they ended 11 points above second-placed AS Roma.
Shevchenko celebrated a career total of 250 goals in 513 games. He won multiple league titles with AC Milan and Chelsea, adding a Champions League winner's medal to close off a successful career.
#4 Ronaldinho
Perhaps the greatest showman of his generation, 2005 Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho dazzled his way through all opposition as the chief creator of Barcelona's triumphant La Liga win.
The 2004-05 season was iconic for the Brazilian playmaker. He was awarded the FIFA World player of the year award for being the spark in Brazil's FIFA Confederations Cup winning campaign. He also had an excellent start to Barcelona's eventual Champions League winning run in the 2005-06 season. These two factors made him the outright choice for the 2005 Ballon d'Or.
Ronaldinho ended up being one of the most decorated players of his time, winning 15 trophies with PSG, Barcelona and AC Milan.
#3 Ronaldo Nazario
Ronaldo Nazario was awarded the Ballon d'Or in 1997, making him the youngest ever player to win the award at the age of 21. He won it for a second time in 2002, having been rewarded for winning the golden boot during Brazil's 2002 FIFA World Cup win.
The Brazilian phenom became a fan favorite as soon as he took the ball in his stride, scoring a plethora of goals for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid. He scored 295 goals in 452 appearances in club football. He was also a key part of two World Cup winning runs for Brazil.
With a career goal tally of 414, Ronaldo was the best striker of his generation. He possessed the abilities of a predator in the box, as well as creating goal scoring opportunities for himself out of nothing.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo
Having won the Ballon d'Or five times in the space of a decade, Cristiano Ronaldo is the definition of a complete forward. He won the prestigious award for the first time in 2008, for being the driving force in Manchester United's treble-winning season. He followed it up by winning it another four times with Real Madrid as the focal point of the only club to win the Champions League three seasons running.
The Portuguese talisman recorded a whopping 311 goals from 284 starts at Real Madrid during the prime of his career. Since turning 31, Ronaldo has averaged an xG (Expected Goals) of 23 per season, a statistic every forward in their prime can only hope to maintain.
Ronaldo has collected a total of 18 gold medals across a vast number of stages in his career, and will go down as the best player each of his clubs has ever seen.
#1 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi signed for FC Barcelona at the age of 13, made his first competitive appearance at the age of 17, and the rest is history. Messi's career at Barcelona is one that will probably never be replicated again. He won six Ballon d'Or awards, 10 La Liga titles and four Champions League titles at Barcelona.
Messi was the source of everything that happened at Barcelona. His innate ability to collect the ball miles away from goal and create goal scoring opportunities is what separates him from the rest.
Due to financial issues at Barcelona, Messi was forced to leave his boyhood club at the beginning of the current season, taking his talents to Paris St. Germain. He will hope to continue to dominate the game alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. However, the Barcelona faithful will in no way think that this diminishes the legacy of the best player their club has ever seen.
