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Ballon d'Or 2017 - Cristiano Ronaldo
1) Cristiano Ronaldo - 946 points
2) Lionel Messi - 670 points
3) Neymar Jr. - 361 points
4) Gianluigi Buffon - 221 points
5) Luka Modric - 84 points
Cristiano Ronaldo matched Lionel Messi's then tally of five Ballon d'Or awards by winning the prestigious prize in 2017. He led Real Madrid to a second consecutive Champions League title that year. The Portuguese international also won the La Liga title that year.
Messi clocked slightly better numbers but only had the Copa Del Rey to show for it. He scored 54 goals and provided 20 assists in 52 appearances for Barcelona across all competitions. Ronaldo scored 42 goals and provided 12 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for Los Blancos.
But Ronaldo's contributions proved to be more telling than his eternal rival's and this allowed him to win a fifth Ballon d'Or.
Ballon d'Or 2018: Winner - Luka Modric
1) Luka Modric - 753 points
2) Cristiano Ronaldo - 478 points
3) Antoine Griezmann - 414 points
4) Kylian Mbappe - 347 points
5) Lionel Messi - 280 points
After breaking into the top 5 in the 2017 Ballon d'Or race, Luka Modric pipped club teammate Cristiano Ronaldo to the award in 2018. He was in great form for both club and country. Modric played a crucial role in Real Madrid's third consecutive Champions League title win in 2018.
He was also Croatia's best player as they made it to the finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Lionel Messi only just about made the top 5 that year despite winning the La Liga title and the Copa Del Rey.
Ballon d'Or 2019: Winner - Lionel Messi
1) Lionel Messi - 686 points
2) Virgil van Dijk - 679 points
3) Cristiano Ronaldo - 476 points
4) Sadio Mane - 347 points
5) Mohamed Salah - 178 points
Three Liverpool players made it to the top five of the 2019 Ballon d'Or. The Merseysiders won the Champions League that year and Virgil van Dijk established himself as the best centre-back in the world. This was the closest Ballon d'Or race in a very long time but Messi ended up beating Van Dijk to the award by just seven points.
Messi won the La Liga title with Barcelona that year. He scored 51 goals and provided 22 assists in 50 appearances across all competitions for the Catalans in the 2018-19 season. In the end, that proved to be enough to earn him a record sixth Ballon d'Or.
