Lionel Messi picked up his sixth Ballon d'Or last week, pipping Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk to the accolade.

It was one of the closest in terms of voting for quiet some time, with Messi winning by just seven points.

Cristiano Ronaldo finished in third, somehow ahead of Liverpool superstars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah.

But despite his high finish, the Portuguese will be fuming that Messi has now surpassed his total of five Ballon d'Or wins.

The two generational talents have contested the award for the past decade, with Luka Modric the only player to break their duopoly in 2018.

Such has been their dominance that Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has declared that there should be a separate Ballon d'Or just for Messi and Ronaldo.

The Spaniard said, per AS: "They could create a Ballon d'Or just for those two [and award it to one or the other] depending on results, and another for the rest. It would be best for football."

Don't worry Van Dijk, the Ballon d'Or 2.0 will be coming in the post any day now!

With Ramos' idea in mind, let's have a look at what players would have secured the coveted award if Messi and Ronaldo were condemned to their separate two-way battle.

BALLON D'OR WINNERS WITHOUT MESSI AND RONALDO

2008 - Fernando Torres

2009 - Xavi

2010 - Andres Iniesta

2011 - Xavi

2012 - Andres Iniesta

2013 - Franck Ribery

2014 - Manuel Neuer

2015 - Neymar

2016 - Antoine Griezmann

2017 - Neymar

2018 - Luka Modric

2019 - Virgil van Dijk

Two apiece for Xavi, Iniesta and Neymar!

Sadly for Ramos, he has never featured in the top three for the Ballon d'Or, despite winning four Champions League trophies with Real Madrid and three major trophies with Spain.

His Spanish compatriots would certainly have benefitted, though...