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In terms of both prestige and historical significance, the Ballon d'Or has no parallel. The award has become the holy grail of modern football and is reserved only for the absolute cream of the beautiful game.
While there have been a few surprise coups in the past, the Ballon d'Or has largely been dominated by a select crop of legendary figures in the sport. The award has helped write new names into history books and has also validated new generations of sporting legends over the years.
The Ballon d'Or ceremony has witnessed some comprehensive victories
The Ballon d'Or race can often be a nail-biting contest that usually crowns a first among equals. Since the turn of the century, however, several Ballon d'Or presentations have been heavily one-sided and for good reason.
In recent years, the number of points allotted to players in the Ballon d'Or race has seen a drastic increase. The margins of these Ballon d'Or victories from a statistical point of view have also burgeoned as a result.
With the number of points being considered as a metric, the Ballon d'Or victories from 2010 to 2015 cannot be considered because FIFA temporarily decided to use a percentage scale. This list is particularly harsh on a certain Lionel Messi because it will not be able to consider his exceptional Ballon d'Or victories during this period.
Without further ado, here is a list of the most comprehensive Ballon d'Or victories in football history.
#5 Zinedine Zidane - Davor Suker (176 points, 1998)
While Croatian hero Davor Suker did his best to give Zinedine Zidane a run for his money in the 1998 Ballon d'Or race, the Juventus talisman always seemed destined for the prize. Zidane had one of the best seasons of his career in 1998 and his World Cup triumph was the icing on the cake.
Zinedine Zidane inspired Juventus to the Serie A title in the 1997-98 season and became one of the Italian league's best players. The midfield maestro also produced a legendary performance against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final and was the best player at the time by a considerable margin.
Suker did win the Golden Boot with Croatia at the World Cup but did not stand a chance against Zidane's heroics. The Frenchman secured 244 points in the Ballon d'Or race, finishing an impressive 176 points ahead of his competition.
#4 Lionel Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo (240 points, 2009)
In 2009, Lionel Messi was virtually unstoppable. The Argentine talisman had shown several glimpses of his brilliance as a teenager but blossomed into the world's best player under Pep Guardiola in the 2008-09 season.
As far as silverware is concerned, the year 2009 could not have been better for Barcelona. The Catalans won a historic sextuple with Guardiola at the helm and the 22-year-old Lionel Messi was their knight in shining armour on an astonishingly regular basis.
Messi scored 31 goals in the 2008-09 La Liga season and produced legendary performances in the UEFA Champions League. The Barcelona prodigy met his match in Cristiano Ronaldo when his side faced Manchester United in the Champions League final and came out on top to race to the first of many emphatic Ballon d'Or triumphs.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi (276 points, 2017)
Only two names have been shockingly consistent when it comes to Ballon d'Or races over the past decade. While Lionel Messi secured five of his Ballon d'Or victories between 2009 and 2015, Cristiano Ronaldo bounced back with a couple of his own in the years that followed.
In the 2016-17 season, Cristiano Ronaldo scored 42 goals in all competitions and helped Real Madrid to the La Liga title. Ronaldo ended Barcelona's stranglehold in the league and won Los Blancos their first La Liga triumph since 2012.
The Portuguese talisman also took his UEFA Champions League form to unprecedented heights and scored twice against Juventus in the final. The Real Madrid striker outperformed Lionel Messi in 2017 and drew level with his arch-rival by winning his fifth Ballon d'Or.
#2 Luka Modric - Cristiano Ronaldo (277 points, 2018)
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have duopolised the Ballon d'Or to an unimaginable extent over the past decade and have won 11 of the 12 awards between them. Luka Modric is the only player to have ended their Ballon d'Or dominance and did so in exceptional fashion in 2018.
Modric played an instrumental role in Real Madrid's third consecutive Champions League triumph and was at his peak for most of the year. The midfielder also spearheaded Croatia's campaign in the 2018 World Cup and led them to the final of the competition.
Modric's Ballon d'Or triumph in 2018 was always on the cards but the margin of his victory did take a fair few by surprise. The midfield maestro finished ahead of his teammate Cristiano Ronaldo by a hefty 277-point margin and became the first Croatian to win the Ballon d'Or.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - Lionel Messi (429 points, 2016)
Ballon d'Or contests between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are often intense and even affairs that tend to split the footballing world right down the middle. In 2016, however, Cristiano Ronaldo won the award by the biggest margin in history.
While Real Madrid narrowly missed out on the La Liga title in 2016, they stormed their way to their 11th UEFA Champions League triumph. Cristiano Ronaldo also went on to win Euro 2016 with Portugal and established himself as one of the greatest players of all time.
In addition to silverware, the Portuguese superstar also broke a number of records in 2016 and became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer in both La Liga and in all competitions. Ronaldo secured an astonishing 745 points and was well ahead of Lionel Messi, who finished in a distant second place with 316 points.
Also Read: Top 5 Ballon d'Or winners with the least points difference
