Ranking the Ballon d'Or winners of the decade (2010-2019)

#8 Lionel Messi, 2011

In what was a record-breaking season, Lionel Messi defied the odds and spearheaded Barcelona to the La Liga and UEFA Champions League double, as Pep Guardiola's side steamrolled sides on their way to an era of dominance domestically as well as in Europe.

The diminutive Argentinian picked up the award for the 3rd season running and was comfortably the best player in the world at the time, as the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and teammate Xavi Hernandez were nowhere close to his brilliance despite having sensational seasons themselves.

2011 Ballon d'Or 1st Place - Lionel Messi: 47.88% of votes

2011 Ballon d'Or 2nd Place - Cristiano Ronaldo: 21.6% of votes

2011 Ballon d'Or 3rd Place - Xavi Hernandez: 9.23% of votes

#7 Lionel Messi, 2010

Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for the second time in his career in 2010, as he topped off his heroics in 2009 by winning the award for the second season running. While the Argentinian was joined on the podium by teammates Xavi and Andres Iniesta, with the trio playing a pivotal role in Pep Guardiola's tiki-taka driven Barcelona side that was seen as the gold standard of club football at the time, his victory was subject to controversy.

While Barcelona dominated club football at the time, Messi's award was met with a series of ill-fated comments, as he was blamed for Argentina's disastrous showing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as they failed to hit the ground running despite going into the tournament with a renowned sense of hope and optimism.

2010 Ballon d'Or 1st Place - Lionel Messi: 47.88% of votes

2010 Ballon d'Or 2nd Place - Andres Iniesta: 17.36% of votes

2010 Ballon d'Or 3rd Place - Xavi Hernandez: 16.48% of votes