Look mate, as most people already knew, I was obviously trolling - but now I have to genuinely disagree with you. The reason Xavi and Iniesta made the Ballon D'Or top 5 is because they are all-time great players and they played at their peak in those years, not because Messi brought them into it. That's just completely disrespectful to Xavi and Iniesta's legacy as the 2 best Spanish players of all-time. They made the Ballon D'Or top 5 because they were the heartbeat of possibly the greatest international team of all time, the only team that has won Euro-World Cup-Euro back to back. And that's completely disregarding the eye test where Messi obviously did not significantly help Xavi and Iniesta control the midfield (and hence the game) for Barca or Spain. He's a forward (even as a false nine, the point stands) while they are midfielders. Xavi helps Messi far more than Messi helps Xavi. Just a function of how they play and their positions on the pitch.
Now, if you were talking about Neymar and Suarez, you definitely have more of a point. Even then though, their Ballon D'Or places were especially strengthened by their blistering form and dynamism in the period when Messi was out injured. They were both widely believed to be the 2 best players at the time. In the first half of 2015, they both had moments of individualism that put them above every other player besides Messi. All in all, even considering the influence Messi has on their game (Neymar more so than Suarez), they are both individually good enough to be considered 3 of the top 4 players in the world. In fact, Suarez should have made the top 3 in 2014 completely based off his season in the Premier League with Liverpool.
Ronaldo's team mates do not make the Ballon D'Or top 3 or 5 or even 10 because they are of nowhere near the same quality. Bar Modric who had a legitimate claim to being the best midfielder in Europe in 2014, name me one Real Madrid player who deserves to be in the top 5 (or even 10) on their own merit?
Frankly, I cannot believe how much attention was given to my posts, considering there are way worse posts at the same time elsewhere in the forum. Like selling Neymar for 190 million euros for 3 months of bad form, releasing a treble winning manager who is very likely to win a double in his second season, the doom-and-gloom about a treble winning team, talking shit about a player who is obviously being played out of position (Arda), overreactions about the starting goalkeeper, Bale being better than Neymar, constant overreactions about Madrid winning the league or CL, moaning about Madrid's luck etc.
Really, you have been the most privileged fans in possibly all of sports over the past 10 years and yet there is so much negativity, hysteria and knee-jerk. How can you not troll after reading all that?
Atleast a few people are finally seeing the light in the Jordi Alba case, so there is hope