12 footballers who could have won the Ballon d’Or if Messi and Ronaldo were never born

8. Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben came 4^th in the 2014 edition of the award surpassed by the mighty duo and his Bayern Munich colleague – Manuel Neuer. In a career that has seen him win major medals, the left footed Dutch winger is on the list of the players that came really close to clinching the award.

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovich

Swedish living legend and top Manchester United striker came 4^th in the 2013 edition, surpassed by the usual suspects and Franck Ribery. We can all agree that in this case the award didn’t go to Zlatan and neither did Zlatan go to the award.