Players nominated for the Ballon d’Or tend to boast a lot of longevity, being able to stay at the very top of the game for many years.
But, looking at the more recent years of the award, some of these former stars have fallen by the wayside...
Mario Balotelli (2012)
In the 2011/12 season, Mario Balotelli continued to emerge as a top talent for Manchester City but was making the headlines for his antics off of the field.
After winning the Premier League in 2012, the club moved him on to AC Milan during the following campaign. Since 2013, Balotelli has bounced from AC Milan to Liverpool, back to AC Milan on loan, and then to OGC Nice on a free transfer in 2016.
He has since put up his best numbers for a club with 43 goals in 72 games for Nice, earning a return to his national team, Italy, earlier this year. Nice are currently at 40/1 to win the Coupe de France and 20/1 to finish in the top three in Ligue 1 this season.
Franck Ribery (2013)
After winning the Champions League, German Cup, and Bundesliga, Franck Ribery came third in the overall voting of the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or.
Now 35 years old, Ribery has seen a steady decline in his stats lines from that season, with the 2014/15 season onward yielding many injuries and far fewer goals and assists.
Bayern Munich have continued to win the Bundesliga in every season since 2012/13 and are at 33/100 to do so again this season.
James Rodriguez (2014)
The Colombian’s showing in the 2014 World Cup earned him a move to Real Madrid and the coveted FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year.
While he was able to get goals and assists with Real Madrid, James Rodriguez struggled for a consistent starting role, has been loaned out to Bayern Munich for the last two seasons, but has been unable to play full games with regular occurrence.
Yaya Toure (2015)
Yaya Toure was one of the stars of Manchester City’s rise to becoming legitimate Premier League contenders.
But, once his former manager Pep Guardiola arrived at the club, he struggled for first-team football.
Having been nominated for the 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 Ballon d’Or awards, the Ivorian is now trying to work his way into the Olympiacos starting eleven, who are at 5/2 to make it into the top two of their Europa League group.
*Odds subject to change - correct at time of writing*
