Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk are the two front-runners from a star-studded shortlist that was unveiled last month.
1) Juninho - 12th in 2005 Juninho Pernambucano was an icon at Lyon - but he is perhaps not the most remembered of the Ballon d'Or contenders. But in an era featuring some huge names from the biggest clubs in world football, the Lyon legend is not the most memorable figure. As a result, he was named African Footballer of he Year and also earned a place in the Ballon d'Or voting, finishing 11th.4) Rogerio Ceni - 27th in 2007 Sao Paulo legend Rogerio Ceni made a name for himself as the goalscoring goalkeeper.But he never tested himself in Europe, meaning Ballon d'Or votes were something of a surprise.
It came after he had led his country to their first ever Asian Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final and being awarded tournament MVP. But he was rightly lauded in the Ballon d'Or voting in 2008, with the best year of his career seeing him finish as high as 6th place, ahead of the likes of Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Steven Gerrad.Whilst Arshavin reaped the rewards of his performances for Russia, the majority of Spain's dominant side featured in Ballon d'Or contention.
He burst onto the scene in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen before earning a big-money move to Juventus in 2009.It earned him votes for the 2009 Ballon d'Or, finishing 25th, with many expecting him to appear on the list regularly in the future.
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