Where are they now? The Ballon d’Or top 10 the last time Ronaldo & Messi missed out
For the first time since 2003, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or award.
The pair have changed the landscape of football with their intense rivalry at the top of the game that has forever skewed our standards as fans, but father time comes for us all and their powers have finally started to wane.
In what is a seismic moment for football with neither up for the top individual award which they’ve essentially held hostage for over a decade, we’ve taken a look at the players who finished in the top 10 the last time they weren’t involved and where they are now.
10. David Beckham
Sneaking into the top 10 months after making his move to Real Madrid, Beckham wasn’t ever able to reach the heights he did in 1999 when he was beaten to the award by only Rivaldo.
Ahead of the curve, he shocked everyone in 2007 when he swapped Madrid for LA Galaxy, the first step towards a successful post-playig career, with his MLS contract including a clause that allowed him to buy a franchise for just $25million when he stopped playing.
Beckham enjoyed spells with Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring and is now Messi’s boss, having signed the Argentine to his own MLS franchise, Inter Miami.
9. Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon was setting an other-worldly standard for goalkeeping throughout the 2000s and only got better with age, keeping guard for Italy as they won the World Cup in 2006.
That achievement saw him finish runner up for the 2006 Ballon d’Or award, missing out to fellow countryman Fabio Cannavaro. He stayed put at Juventus even after their relegation following the Calciopoli scandal and returned to the club for a second spell in 2019 after a brief spell in Paris.
The legendary stopper finally retired in 2023 after finishing where it all started with Parma, having made over 1100 professional appearances.
8. Roberto Carlos
A player perfect for his time but also way ahead of it, Carlos finished runner up in 2002, but didn’t make the top 5 the following year despite still being one of the best in the world and firing Real Madrid towards the 2002-03 La Liga title.
The later years of his career saw him spend time in Turkey, his native Brazil and even in Russia with the infamous Anzhi Makhachkala, before retiring in 2016 after playing for Dehli Dynamos.
Since them, the legendary Brazilian has devoted a significant amount of time to charity, notably through charity football games. He even turned up for a game of Sunday League once. Seriously.
READ: I saw Roberto Carlos play Sunday league… and it was gloriously sh*t
7. Raul
Before CR7, there was Raul. A man who needed no nickname-turned-brand, the Spaniard was simply addicted to banging in goals for Real Madrid.
He finished runner up for the award in 2001 and, despite not getting quite as close in 2003, was also appointed captain of his beloved Los Blancos in the same year. Every cloud.
Raul finished up his playing career with a brief tour of the world, playing in Germany, Qatar and New York before his retirement in 2015. These days he’s back in Madrid and back with Real, as manager of the club’s Castilla team.
6. Ruud van Nistelrooy
A goalscorer like you wouldn’t believe, Van Nistelrooy’s 25 goals in 34 Premier League games saw him win the 2002-03 Golden Boot and the Player of the Season award as he fired Manchester United to the title.
He also went on a run of scoring 12 goals in nine straight Champions League games at the same time, thus sixth feels a little harsh.
The striker has recently rejoined United as the club’s assistant manager. They could do with him up top, however…
5. Zinedine Zidane
After the highs of 2002 and *that* Champions League final volley, Zizou’s 2003 flew a little under the radar, but he was still imperious in midfield for Real alongside Luis Figo and won the FIFA World Player of the Year award, despite finishing fifth in the Ballon d’Or ranking.
He played for another three years before bowing out at the 2006 World Cup, not with the trophy, but with a headbutt for the ages. His sons have gone on to play football at varying levels of success, while he has been one of the most successful managers of modern times having won three Champions Leagues in charge of Real Madrid.
4. Andriy Shevchenko
Shevchenko was firing on all cylinders and on top of the world in the mid-2000s, winning Scudetti and Champions Leagues with Milan on his way to becoming a club legend and their second all-time top scorer.
Then came the dreaded, career-ending move to Chelsea in 2006. Shevchenko headed to London in a move worth just over £30million in 2005, but looked a shell of the player he did at Milan for the most part and was back on loan with the Rossoneri by 2008.
He eventually retired in 2012 and enjoyed a brief political career before stepping into management. Shevchenko was most recently in charge of Genoa, but has been out of work since his 2022 dismissal.
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3. Paolo Maldini
Taking a place on the podium in 2003 was Shevchenko’s teammate and Milan captain Maldini, who kept a clean sheet alongside Alessandro Nesta as Milan won the Champions League against Juventus on penalties.
The Italian spent the rest of his career with Milan, retiring in 2009 after 25 seasons as a player. These days he’s the co-owner of USL Championship side Miami FC, but was also the technical director at Milan and the brains behind the transfers that fuelled their revival as they won Serie A in 2021-22.
2. Thierry Henry
Henry finished second in the rankings despite Arsenal missing out on the Premier League, with the Frenchman scoring 32 times in all competitions and put in a Player of the Match performance as the Gunners won the FA Cup.
The Invincible season followed straight after the Ballon d’Or disappointment, however, with Henry finding a different gear. He left Arsenal in 2007 after Champions Leaguue final heartbreak the year earlier, but returned on loan in 2012 before his retirement.
His coaching career has proven mixed so far, although he has just led the French men’s Olympics team to silver medal in Paris. Oh, he’s also brilliant on CBS Sports Golazo.
1. Pavel Nedved
Despite losing the Champions League to Milan, Juve did win the 2002-03 Serie A and Nedved was integral in both competitions, having stepped up seamlessly to replace the Zidane-shaped hole.
Injury struck in the years that followed, as did Calciopoli, but Nedved remained with the Old Lady amid their relegation and scored 11 times as they returned to Serie A, cementing his legacy at the club. He eventually retired in 2009, but did come out of retirement in 2018 to play one game with his son a FK Skalna.
Nedved was on the directors board at Juve until 2022 when he and the rest of the board resigned amid another scandal, resulting in him being suspended from holding office in Italian football for eight months.