FIFA World Cup: Winning the Ballon d'Or could be a curse

Lionel Messi has won seven Ballon d'Or awards so far - a number untouched by any other player in football history, but the trophy remained elusive to Argentina. 

Interestingly, the Ballon d'Or runner-up has never won the World Cup too. Now let's take a look down memory lane at the award recipients over the last couple of years!

Eusebio- 1965

Portugal icon Eusebio won the Ballon d'Or in 1965. In the following 1966 edition of the World Cup, Eusebio acquired the Golden Boot with nine goals, but Portugal finished third.

They lost 1-2 to eventual champions England in the last four and then bested the Soviet Union 2-1 in the third-place play-off fixture. 

Gianni Rivera - 1969

The award went to Italy's Gianni Rivera in 1969, but in the 1970 World Cup held in Mexico, Italy lost 1-4 against Brazil in the title clash.

Johan Cruyff- 1973

Johan Cruyff's second Ballon d'Or award arrived in 1973. The Netherlands reached the final of the 1974 World Cup, hosted in West Germany lost 1-2 against the host.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - 1981

In the 1982 World Cup held in Spain, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge entered the final with West Germany. However, they were bested 1-3 by Italy in the summit clash after Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the Ballon d'Or award in 1981.

Michel Platini - 1985

Michel Platini of France won the Ballon d'Or award on three consecutive occasions - 1983, 1984 and 1985. In the 1986 World Cup held in Mexico, France came third after Michel Platini, and his team were thrashed 0-2 by West Germany in the semifinals. 

Roberto Baggio - 1993

Italy's Roberto Baggio was awarded the honour of the 1993 Ballon d'Or. As expected, Italy was beaten by Brazil on penalties in the final match in the United States of America. 

Cristiano Ronaldo - 1997

In 1997, Cristiano Ronaldo was the well-deserving recipient of the Ballon d'Or award, but Brazil lost 0-3 to host France in the title game of the 1998 World Cup.

Michael Owen - 2001

At 22, Michael Owen grabbed the Ballon d'Or award in 2001, and the following year was crushed by eventual winners Brazil at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Ronaldinho - 2005

Brazil legend Ronaldinho was in his prime in the early 2000s and was already a World Cup winner when he received the Ballon d'Or award in 2005. 

In the 2006 World Cup, defending champion Brazil couldn't advance to the quarterfinal stage after losing 1-0 to France. 

Lionel Messi - 2009

Lionel Messi landed his first Ballon d'Or award in 2009. He competed in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa under Diego Maradona's tutelage. 

However, they suffered a heavy 0-4 defeat against Germany in the quarterfinals.

Cristiano Ronaldo - 2013

2013 was the year when Cristiano Ronaldo won his second Ballon d'Or award. He competed in the 2014 World Cup despite his battle against patellar tendinitis and a thigh injury. 

Portugal fared poorly and couldn't make it past the group stages. They had a premature exit, and Ronaldo scored only two goals in that edition.  

Cristiano Ronaldo - 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo's tally of Ballon d'Or awards touched five. Portugal was better in 2018 than the previous edition of the World Cup.

Portugal crossed the group stage but was eliminated in the round of 16 steps due to a 1-2 loss to Uruguay.