Before Cristiano Ronaldo began his decade of sharing it with Lionel Messi, the previous Portuguese player to win the Ballon d'Or was Luis Figo.
The elegant midfielder picked up the prize in 2000, not long after he had made the controversial switch from Barcelona to Real Madrid , for which he was rewarded by having a pig's head thrown at him on his first return to the Nou Camp wearing all white.
Figo's win was the first of seven occasions that the award went to a Real Madrid player this century, with the latest coming just last year even when the Ronaldo-Messi stranglehold was finally broken by Luka Modric.
But according to Figo, the award would have been deserved by another Real player, whether it was for this year or not.
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"It's clear that Sergio Ramos deserves to win the Ballon d'Or," Figo told Marca , although not specifically mentioning that he meant for 2018.
"Being a defender is almost like being a goalkeeper, it's a lot more difficult to win the award but (Fabio) Cannavaro managed it (when Italy won the World Cup in 2006).
"It depends on the moment, on the year, but for quality alone it's obvious that Ramos should win it."
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Should he?
The Spanish defender's toughness and will to win are what we always talk about when we mention him, as well as some of his 'dark arts' that we saw against Liverpool in last season's Champions League final.
But the Ballon d'Or?
You might be on your own here, Luis.
