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Karim Benzema has broken Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's dominance of the Ballon d'Or after helping Real Madrid win the Champions League during the 2021/22 season.

The Frenchman scored 44 goals as Los Blancos won club football's most prestigious trophy and LaLiga.

Benzema deservedly lifted the trophy ahead of Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne
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Benzema deservedly lifted the trophy ahead of Sadio Mane and Kevin De BruyneCredit: AFP
Thibaut Courtois won the Lev Yashin trophy after some sublime displays for Real Madrid
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Thibaut Courtois won the Lev Yashin trophy after some sublime displays for Real MadridCredit: AFP
Lionel Messi wasn't even nominated after winning the 2021 award
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Lionel Messi wasn't even nominated after winning the 2021 awardCredit: AFP

Judged by a panel of journalists, the Ballon d'Or ran in conjunction with FIFA from 2010 until 2015, when the governing body split to create its own - and much less prestigious - 'Best Player' award.

It has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in recent years, with the duo winning 11 of the 13 awards up for grabs since 2008 - Luka Modric briefly broke their duopoly in 2018 before Benzema snatched the 2022 trophy.

Robert Lewandowski was among the front-runners for the 2021 edition but Paris Saint-German superstar and six-time winner Messi added a seventh triumph.

However, Ronaldo and Messi's dominance is over.

But what did football's top prize look like before Messi and Ronaldo took over? That's what marvelbet369.com is looking at, stretching back to 2000.

It's also interesting to see who made it into voters' lists of the top ten footballers in the world from every year since the turn of the millennium, including this one.

Ballon d'Or 2000

1. Luis Figo (Barcelona and Real Madrid)

2. Zinedine Zidane (Juventus)

3. Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

5. Alessandro Nesta (Lazio)

6. Rivaldo (Barcelona)

Real Madrid star Luis Figo collects his award in 2000
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Real Madrid star Luis Figo collects his award in 2000Credit: Getty

7. Gabriel Batistuta (Roma)

8. Gaizka Mendieta (Valencia)

9. Raul (Real Madrid)

10: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)

10: David Beckham (Manchester United)

Ballon d'Or 2001

1. Michael Owen (Liverpool)

2. Raul (Real Madrid)

3. Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich)

4. David Beckham (Manchester United)

5. Francesco Totti (Roma)

6. Luis Figo (Real Madrid)

7. Rivaldo (Barcelona)

8. Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

9. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

10. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

Ballon d'Or 2002

1. Ronaldo (Inter Milan and Real Madrid)

2. Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid)

3. Oliver Kahn (Bayern Munich)

4. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

5. Michael Ballack (Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich)

6. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

7. Raul (Real Madrid)

8. Rivaldo (Barcelona and AC Milan)

9. Yildiray Basturk (Bayer Leverkusen)

10. Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus)

Ballon d'Or 2003

1. Pavel Nedved (Juventus)

2. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

3. Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)

4. Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

5. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved poses with the prestigious gong
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Juventus midfielder Pavel Nedved poses with the prestigious gongCredit: getty images

6. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)

7. Raul (Real Madrid)

8. Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid)

9. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

10. David Beckham (Manchester United and Real Madrid)

Ballon d'Or 2004

1. Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

2. Deco (Porto and Barcelona)

3. Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

5. Theodoros Zagorakis (AEK Athens and Bologna)

6. Adriano (Parma and Inter Milan)

7. Pavel Naved (Juventus)

8. Wayne Rooney (Everton and Manchester United)

9. Ricardo Carvalho (Porto and Chelsea)

10. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Manchester United)

Ballon d'Or 2005

1. Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

2. Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

3. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

4. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

5. Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)

6. Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)

7. Adriano (Inter Milan)

8. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Juventus)

9. Kaka (AC Milan)

10: Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona)

10: John Terry (Chelsea)

Ballon d'Or 2006

1. Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus and Real Madrid)

2. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

3. Thierry Henry (Arsenal)

4. Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

5. Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)

6. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona)

A moment Fabio Cannavaro will never forget
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A moment Fabio Cannavaro will never forgetCredit: getty images

7. Miroslav Klose (Werder Bremen)

8. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

9. Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

10. Jens Lehmann (Arsenal)

Ballon d'Or 2007

1. Kaka (AC Milan)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

4. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

5. Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)

6. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid)

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan)

8. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

9. Robinho (Real Madrid)

10. Francesco Totti (Roma)

Ballon d'Or 2008

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

3. Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

4. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

5. Xavi (Barcelona)

6. Andrey Arshavin (Zenit Saint Petersburg)

7. David Villa (Valencia)

8. Kaka (AC Milan)

9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan)

10. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Ballon d'Or 2009

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United and Real Madrid)

3. Xavi (Barcelona)

4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

5. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona)

6. Kaka (AC Milan and Real Madrid)

Lionel Messi with his first Ballon d'Or in 2009
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Lionel Messi with his first Ballon d'Or in 2009Credit: getty images

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan and Barcelona)

8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

9. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

10. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

Ballon d'Or 2010

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

3. Xavi (Barcelona)

4. Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan)

5. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)

6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

7. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

8. David Villa (Valencia and Barcelona)

9. Didier Drogba (Chelsea)

10. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool)

Messi and Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'Or multiple times and have dominated it since 2008
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Messi and Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'Or multiple times and have dominated it since 2008

Ballon d'Or 2011

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

3. Xavi (Barcelona)

4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

5. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)

6. Luis Suarez (Ajax and Liverpool)

7. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan)

8. Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan and Anzhi Makhachkala)

9. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

10. Neymar (Santos)

Ballon d'Or 2012

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

3. Xavi (Barcelona)

4. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

5. Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

6. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

7. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

8. Didier Drogba (Chelsea and Atletico Madrid)

9. Robin van Persie (Arsenal and Manchester United)

10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain)

Ballon d'Or 2013

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

3. Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)

4. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain)

5. Neymar (Santos and Barcelona)

Ronaldo has won it five times during his career
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Ronaldo has won it five times during his careerCredit: getty images

6. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

7. Robin van Persie (Manchester United)

8. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

9. Gareth Bale (Tottenham and Real Madrid)

10. Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)

Ballon d'Or 2014

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

3. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

4. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

5. Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)

6. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

7. Neymar (Barcelona)

8. James Rodriguez (Monaco and Real Madrid)

9. Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich and Real Madrid)

10. Angel di Maria (Real Madrid and Manchester United)

Ballon d'Or 2015

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

3. Neymar (Barcelona)

4. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

5. Paul Pogba (Juventus)

Messi has won it six times and could even add another in 2021
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Messi has won it six times and could even add another in 2021Credit: getty images

6. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

7. Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)

8. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

9. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

10. Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)

Ballon d'Or 2016

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

3. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

4. Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

5. Neymar (Barcelona)

6. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)

7. Riyad Mahrez (Leicester)

8. Jamie Vardy (Leicester)

9: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

9: Pepe (Real Madrid)

Jorginho has proven many of his doubters wrong and has even been tipped to win the Ballon d'Or
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Jorginho has proven many of his doubters wrong and has even been tipped to win the Ballon d'OrCredit: Getty

Ballon d'Or 2017

1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

2. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

3. Neymar (Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain)

4. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)

5. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

6. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

7. Kylian Mbappe (Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain)

8. N'Golo Kante (Chelsea)

9. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

10. Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Ballon d'Or 2018

1. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

3. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)

4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

5. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Modric was awarded it following a fantastic season which also saw him named best player at the World Cup
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Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Modric was awarded it following a fantastic season which also saw him named best player at the World CupCredit: getty

6. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

7. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

8. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)

9. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)

10. Harry Kane (Tottenham)

Ballon d'Or 2019

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

2. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

4. Sadio Mane (Liverpool)

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

No player has won the Ballon d'Or more than Messi
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No player has won the Ballon d'Or more than Messi

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

7. Alisson Becker (Liverpool)

8. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)

10. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)

Ballon d'Or 2020 (cancelled due to COVID pandemic)

Ballon d'Or 2021

1. Lionel Messi (PSG)

2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

3. Jorginho (Chelsea)

4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

5. N'golo Kante (Chelsea)

6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

8. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

9. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)

10. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)

That man Messi wins the Ballon d'Or again
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That man Messi wins the Ballon d'Or againCredit: AFP

Ballon d'Or 2022

1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

2. Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Bayern Munich)

3. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

4. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich and Barcelona)

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

7. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)

8. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)

9. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)

10. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City)

This was Benzema's first Ballon d'Or
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This was Benzema's first Ballon d'OrCredit: AFP
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