5 most surprising Ballon d'Or candidates of all time

#3 Nani (2011)

Nani was always in Ronaldo's shadow at Man Utd

Remembered by many in Manchester as the team's 'other Portuguese winger', Nani eventually carved out a decent career for himself. His nomination unsurprisingly came after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was already taking the top prize home. The tricky winger, who often had more skills than end product, placed 22nd in 2011.

This came during the most impressive year of his career as he recorded nearly 50 appearances for the Red Devils. His momentum soon faded however as he was dropped from the United first team and sent to his former club on loan.