The Ballon d’Or remains the biggest individual honour in world football.

To be named the greatest player in an entire calendar year is something that only the very best stars dream of.

But for more than a decade, the award has been largely dominated by two players - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The two superstars have won 11 Ballons d’Or between them in the previous 12 years, leaving everyone else fighting for ‘the best of the rest.’

Some players may well feel that if Messi and Ronaldo didn’t exist, they would have got their hands on the prestigious accolade.

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In truth, it’s quickly forgotten which players finish behind the eventual winner of the award.

However, a fascinating graphic has emerged that shows you where some of the world’s best players in the last 20 years have finished in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

The image, which was posted on Reddit, shows the top 20 in the last 20 years and highlights each player’s career highest position. The players are ordered by which year they were born.

Check it out below:

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So, what are the interesting outcomes? Let’s take a look in chronological order.

That Steven Gerrard finished on the podium back in 2005 is easily forgotten. A year earlier, Angelos Charisteas managed an 11th-placed finish after helping Greece win Euro 2004.

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Other surprises include Ardrey Arshavin finishing a high of 6th, Milan Baros 12th and Jamie Vardy 8th.

Another interesting aspect is that there are no Italian players on the list. The likes of Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon were both born before 1980, while Ciro Immobile would surely have been guaranteed a top 20 finish if the Ballon d’Or wasn’t cancelled last year.

It also shows that no player born after Messi has won the award. The closest anyone got was Virgil van Dijk in 2019, who finished second to the Argentine.