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The life of a midfielder in this generation is very difficult. While a lot of fans will blame them if their team lose, not many bats an eye when their team wins. It's either the defenders or the forwards that get the praise for a successful team.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been winning the Ballon d'Or for the last decade but there have been several instances where there was a player who was better than them during the course of the season, but still, one of these two ended up winning the individual honour!
Here are 5 such midfielders who deserved to win the Ballon d'Or:
#5 Andrés Iniesta
When people think of Andres Iniesta, the first thing that comes to one's mind is his 116th-minute goal against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final or that goal against Chelsea in 2009.
The Barcelona legend is undoubtedly one of the best midfielders the world has ever seen and it’s a pity that he never won the Ballon d’Or. He has won 9 La Liga titles, 7 Spanish Super Cups, 6 Copa del Rey trophies, 4 Champions Leagues titles, 3 European Super Cups and 3 Club World Cups with Blaugrana.
The 2010 Ballon d’Or should have gone to Iniesta without anyone even coming close but somehow, it was given to Lionel Messi instead. The midfielder had won the World Cup and La Liga that season, made it to the FIFPro and UEFA team of the year but still finished 2nd with just 17.36% of the votes in the race for Ballon d’Or.
France Football apologised to Iniesta this year after he announced his departure from Barcelona. “Of all the absences on the list of Ballon d’Or winners, his is particularly painful,” the magazine’s editor Pascal Ferre said in his article earlier this year.
#4 Luka Modric
Luka Modric was voted the worst signing of the year in 2012 by La Liga fans. The Real Madrid faithful were also questioning the signing and were keen on selling him as soon as possible.
The Croatian did not fall prey to such criticism and established himself as one of the best in the world ever since. He has made the critics eat their words and shown why Madrid signed him from Tottenham.
He is easily one of the best midfielders in the world right now, despite being 32-years-old. Real Madrid are looking to replace him but it will be very difficult to find someone who plays the same way.
#3 N'Golo Kante
N’Golo Kante won back-to-back Premier League titles with two different teams and was pivotal for both. Chelsea and Leicester City will be forever grateful to the Frenchman for his unmatched performances.
His commitment in the midfield allowed both teams to dominate the opponents despite having just two men in the centre of the pitch. He was shuttling from box-to-box and intercepting almost all the balls that were going past him.
If doing the job of two players on the pitch and winning the league for his side isn't enough to get the Ballon d’Or, then it’s difficult to understand what is.
#2 Sergio Busquets
Along with Iniesta, Sergio Busquets was also on top of his game in 2010. The defensive midfielder was the heart of Barcelona and Spain and was one of the main reasons for their dominance over that year.
He has never come close to winning a Ballon d’Or and that clearly shows how much people neglect the defensive midfielders. The voters, who are mostly journalists and media people, concentrate only on those who score goals and that really made it difficult for a player like Busquets to win the award.
If they award was truly based on an individual’s contribution to the team and not just in front of the goal, the Barcelona star would have got his hands on one for sure.
#1 Toni Kroos
We won't pay you more than €10 million a year because you're not a world-class player.' – that is exactly what Bayern Munich CEO, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told when he was in talks to renew his contract at the German club.
A couple of months later, he was sold to Real Madrid for €25 million – what is being called as the bargain of the century by several football fans. Pep Guardiola also did not show enough faith in him and was often preferring Mario Gotze over him.
With 2 Champions League titles in 4 years at Real Madrid (with a chance to make it 3 titles), one cannot argue that he is not a world-class player. Had it not been for the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly in the Ballon d’Or, Kroos would have won the trophy in 2014 – as he had won every major title in the world that year.
