The Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball), is an award given annually to the best soccer player in the world of the year. It is the most prestigious individual award a player can win.

Over the last decade, soccer players have been treated to one of the greatest player rivalries of all-time, if not the greatest. It is the rivalry between Argentinian winger Lionel Messi and Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo starting with Portuguese club Sporting CP. Messi has played for FC Barcelona for the entirety of his career. In 2009, Ronaldo transferred from Manchester United FC to Real Madrid CF. Madrid and Barcelona are the two best teams in Spain and have one of the best rivalries in the sport. That only adds fuel to the Messi-Ronaldo fire.

Since 2008, either Messi or Ronaldo have won the Ballon d'Or. There is absolutely no denying that these two men are the best soccer players in the world, however, they have not necessarily been the two most deserving winners of this award. Here are the players that have deserved to win the award since 2008.

2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC)

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC)

Let's give Ronaldo some credit here. He certainly deserved to win his first Ballon d'Or. He was Man U's top scorer in all competitions with 42 goals as they raced to a European double. They won the English Premier League and defeated their English rivals Chelsea FC on penalties in the UEFA Champions League Final. Ronaldo scored the goal that resulted in the 1-1 draw and wound up missing his penalty, but Man U came out on top.

2009: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Winner: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Again, this year Messi deserved to win his first Ballon d'Or. He was Barcelona's top scorer across all competitions as they won literally everything they could possibly win and captured a European treble. They beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Manchester United FC 2-0 in the UEFA Champions League Final in what was Ronaldo's last game for Man U.

2010: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF)

Winner: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

2010 was a FIFA World Cup year. It would make sense that the best player on the team that wins the most prestigious tournament of the sport would win the award. In 2010, neither Ronaldo or Messi won the UEFA Champions League. Internazionale won that year. In the FIFA World Cup, Spanish captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas had a phenomenal tournament. He had five shutouts, four of which came in the knockout round. He did not allow a goal in the last four games they played and he was a huge reason Spain won their first World Cup. He was certainly deserving of the Ballon d'Or.

2011: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Winner: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Once again, Messi actually deserved this one. He scored 53 goals for the best team in the world. Barcelona won their second UEFA Champions League in two years and Messi was undoubtedly their best player.

2012: Andres Iniesta (FC Barcelona)

Winner: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Chelsea FC shocked everyone in 2012 when they amazingly beat FC Barcelona in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and then traveled to the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany and defeated FC Bayern München in the final that year. Despite that, Chelsea FC had a rough year. 2012 was once again a European tournament year. Spain won their third straight major tournament, following their 2008 UEFA European Championship and 2010 FIFA World Cup wins. Andres Iniesta was definitely their best player. He was the best player in the entire tournament that summer. He also added a pretty solid season for Barcelona as they won the Copa del Rey.

2013: Franck Ribéry (FC Bayern München)

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

Ah! My love. One of my favorite players on my favorite team and a man I share a birthday with. I mean this in the most unbiased way ever, Franck Ribéry deserved to win the Ballon d'Or in 2013. He was our best player as we won a European treble. We broke countless records in Germany that year. We won the DFB-Pokal easily and beat our arch rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the UEFA Champions League Final. Ribéry provided the assist for the 89th-minute winner which came from Arjen Robben. It was a good year for the Frenchman and a good year for FC Bayern München.

2014: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München)

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

2014 was another World Cup year. In club soccer, Cristiano Ronaldo led Real Madrid to the UEFA Champions League victory with a 4-1 win over cross-town rivals Atlético Madrid in the final. Meanwhile, in Germany, Manuel Neuer helped FC Bayern München break even more records and win the German double. The 2014 FIFA World Cup kicked off in June. Manuel Neuer as the goalkeeper shutout Ronaldo's Portugal 4-0 in the first game and then shutout Messi's Argentina 1-0 in the final. So that means Neuer prevented the two deadliest men from scoring en route to Germany's fourth world title. Ballon d'Or worthy.

2015: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

Winner: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)

This year was spot on as Lionel Messi led FC Barcelona to another European treble and a phenomenal season. He once again led the team with 58 goals in all competitions.

2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

This is a really tough one for me because like everyone else, I feel like Ronaldo has won the award too many times. I want to say that Antoine Griezmann deserved to win so badly but I really think that the voters got this one right. Ronaldo scored 51 goals as Real Madrid captured their second UEFA Champions League win in 3 years. He then led Portugal to one of the most improbable tournament wins at the 2016 UEFA European Championship, despite getting hurt in the final. Antoine Griezmann shouldn't go unnoticed though. He led Atlético Madrid to the UEFA Champions League Final but obviously lost to Ronaldo and company. He then led France, in the wake up of the horrors that had happened in Paris in November, to the final of the UEFA European Championship...but once again lost to Ronaldo and company.

2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

Winner: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid CF)

Another well deserved Ballon d'Or win for Ronaldo. He led Real Madrid with 42 goals in all competitions as they won La Liga and hammered Juventus in the UEFA Champions League Final 4-1, with Ronaldo scoring half of those. Led by Ronaldo, Madrid won their third UEFA Champions League in four years.

So, over the last ten years, Messi and Ronaldo have each won 5 Ballon d'Ors. By my own personal count, I have each of them winning three. One goes to Messi's teammate and one goes to Ronaldo's old teammate. Two go to an FC Bayern München player.

As of December 2017, FC Barcelona is winning La Liga. Both Barcelona and Madrid are still in the Copa del Rey. Barcelona won their UEFA Champions League group and Madrid came in second but they are both through to the Round of 16. The world will obviously keep their eyes on both Ronaldo and Messi as 2018 approaches.

There are some early frontrunners to contend for the 2018 Ballon d'Or but let's be real, it will likely go to one of these two. As of right now, Messi has the slight edge but a lot will happen from now until next December, including a FIFA World Cup.