Curse of the Ballon d'Or

Messi was realistic on receiving the award, saying: "To win the Ballon d'Or two years in a row is not an easy thing."

He is right. No player has won the award twice since the Brazilian Ronaldo (1997 and 2002), and few winners over the last 10 years have thrived afterwards.

Eurosport-Yahoo! investigates whether Messi could be about to experience the curse of the Ballon d'Or.

Ronaldo spent the second half of last season in a sulk, lost the Champions League final (and with it any chance of retaining the Ballon d'Or), then got injured shortly after securing his dream move to Real Madrid. Missed Portugal's World Cup play-off, but will be in South Africa next year.

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The mercurial Brazilian is still one of the best players in the world, but has subsequently polled eighth and sixth in the Ballon d'Or, reflecting a drop in his performance and that of his clubs. And his church in Brazil collapsed earlier this year.

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Cannavaro was chosen after a magnificent World Cup, but promptly entered a terminal decline. Now back at Juventus after a disastrous spell at Real Madrid, and is counting down the days until he moves into coaching.

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Not so long ago, Ronaldinho was universally acknowledged as the best player in the world. He has failed to make even make the top 30 for the last two years. Form, fitness and motivation have deserted him and he may not even go to the 2010 World Cup.

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Once the deadliest striker in the world, Shvechenko's career nosedived after moving to Chelsea in 2006. Roman Abramovich's £30m plaything scored just 16 league goals in two seasons, then failed in a second spell at Milan and is now back in Ukraine.

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Although 2002/03, when Juventus reached the Champions League final, proved the pinnacle of his career, the Czech remained a consistent performer until his retirement this summer. Suffered the indignity of a season in Serie B with Juve but stayed loyal.

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Ronaldo was already on his third or fourth comeback when he won his second Ballon d'Or in 2002. Things have gone spectacularly wrong since, although he had two more good seasons with Real Madrid before his career and his body both went went pear-shaped.

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A sorry catalogue of injuries ensured Owen has never come close to replicating his 2000/01 season, when he helped Liverpool to a Cup treble and scored a hat-trick against Germany. Still talks a good game, but in truth he is a pale shadow of his former self.

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Was crowned in the year of his sensational move from Barcelona to Real Madrid, and his sensational play continued among the Galacticos. Won two Liga titles, one Champions League and captained Portugal to the Euro 2004 final.

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Another Brazilian. Rivaldo's career experienced a slow decline rather than a sudden halt, and he still managed to win the 2002 World Cup. Thereafter it all went wrong with an abortive move to Milan, and he now plays in Uzbekistan.