8 players who could have won the Ballon d'Or in the last 8 years

#2 Luis Suarez (2016)

The Uruguayan had his best goal return in 2016

Perhaps the player to enjoy the best individual season aside from Ronaldo and Messi, Suarez somehow reached another level after departing Liverpool from Barcelona; his performances in 2016 were frightening to behold.

The middle part of Barcelona's amazing front trio flanked by Neymar and Messi, in this season they are perhaps the best forward three in the history of the game, such was their understanding with each other and their goals and assists totals.

Suarez simply couldn't stop scoring during 2016. He scored against Deportivo La Coruna and against Celta Vigo, becoming the first player in La Liga history to score 4 times in consecutive matches; he finished with 40 goals in 35 matches to win the Pichichi trophy, the first player to do so outside of Ronaldo and Messi since Diego Forlan in 2009. 14 of his goals came in his last 5 matches, while he also led the league in assists (16, tied with Messi). Suarez's statistics were just astounding.

He wasn't a mere goal poacher though. Suarez acted as the first line of defense, harassing and harrying defenders into making mistakes. His energy and enthusiasm as he buzzed around the front line was unmatched anywhere in Europe. The Uruguayan was also not content to wait for chances to fall at his feet and was happy to drop deeper to receive the ball and link up with his midfielders.

There's reason to believe that his controversial past counted against him when it came to voting for the Ballon D'Or: incidents like biting Giorgio Chiellini didn't make one a popular figure.

Focus on just his footballing play, however, and Suarez had no equal in 2016, a player of fearsome power and cunning completing one of the greatest years by a striker in the history of the game.