Ronaldo

Ronaldo's first Ballon d'Or came in 1997 at the age of 21, the youngest winner ever, after a Barcelona season so violent in its brilliance that the Camp Nou still speaks of the Compostela goal — one man, half the pitch, five defenders left holding each other. He won it again in 2002, after two ruptured knees and three lost years, scoring eight goals at a World Cup he had been written off from, including both in the final against Germany.

Between those two trophies lies the greatest what-if in the sport's history: the 1998 final in Paris, the morning convulsion, the mystery that has never been fully explained. That he returned at all, and returned as that, is the part that endures — Zidane calls him the best he ever played against, and the professionals of his era, asked to name the most frightening sight in football, answer without pausing.