After years of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominance, it looks more likely than not that a new Ballon d'Or winner will be crowned in 2022.
Ronaldo is among the nominated players after top-scoring for Manchester United last season, but has fallen out of favour under new manager Erik ten Hag to see his chances of a sixth win fade. Seven-time winner Messi, meanwhile, hasn't even made the shortlist after underwhelming in his first season as a Paris Saint-Germain player.
An incredible 12 of the last 13 Ballons d'Or have gone to one of Messi and Ronaldo, with Luka Modric the only player to break up the diarchy when he won the award in 2018. Now, though, Mirror Football has looked back at those 13 to determine who might have won if Messi and Ronaldo didn't exist.
