Match of the Day celebrates it's 60th anniversary this week and to mark the occasions, I've been doing my top 10's of the topics that Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards has discussed on their podcast Match of the Day top 10.
Today's top 10 is Ballon D'or Winners.
CONTENDERS:
Roberto Baggio
Luis Figo
Kaka
Lionel Messi
Rivaldo
Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldinho
Marco Van Basten
Zinedine Zidane
LINEKER, SHEARER AND RICHARDS' TOP 10
Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo
Zinedine Zidane
Ronaldinho
Marco Van Basten
Kaka
Rivaldo
Luis Figo
Roberto Baggio
MY TOP 10
Lionel Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo
Zinedine Zidane
Ronaldo
Marco Van Basten
Ronaldinho
Kaka
Luis Figo
Rivaldo
Roberto Baggio
Messi and Ronaldo undoubtedly had to be in the top 2 because of the standards they set and the levels they performed at year in year out. They both drove each other to be the best player they possibly could be and I don't think we'll ever see another rivalry like the one they shared. Messi wins it for me because he could do anything on the pitch that most players couldn't.
Both Alan and Micah had the Brazilian Ronaldo in 3rd and above Zidane. But I've gone with Zidane in 3rd as he was such an exceptional player who could do almost anything. Ronaldo was also exceptional, but injuries later hampered his career and wasn't at his best level for as long as Zidane was.
I wasn't even born when Van Basten was around, but I have heard about how good he was as a player. He was a goal scoring machine during his playing days and someone who could score any type of goal. His goal scoring exploits put him in my top 5.
Ronaldinho might've been higher had he kept playing at the highest level for longer. He was incredible to watch on his day with all the silky skills he could perform and the quality of goals he could score. It's a shame that his career ended the way it did because he was such an icon to young people and players coming through.
Kaka and Figo are right up there among the greatest midfielders of all time as they could both score and create lots of goals. Figo was wonderful to watch when he was at Real Madrid whilst Kaka was simply outstanding at AC Milan. Gary, Alan and Micah had Rivaldo in between them, which is understandable as Rivaldo was an exceptional goal scorer for both club and country. But I see Figo in a higher class than him.
OTHER POTENTIAL CONTENDERS: Karim Benzema, Andriy Shevchenko
This list was I assume done before the end of 2022, but had it been done after, Benzema might've been included. He really stepped up as Real's main man after Ronaldo left and his 2022 was really special as his goals played a key role in Real winning La Liga and the Champions League. He was an underrated player for some time, but after Ronaldo left, he stepped out of his shadow and showed why he's one of the best finishers in Europe.
Shevchenko won the award in 2004 and at Milan was seen as one of the best strikers in Europe. He flopped at Chelsea but aside that, he was still an exceptional player on his day. He was unlucky not to make the cut as well as was truly an outstanding goal scorer.
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