“For all the complaints over how closed the title races of modern football have become, competitions such as the Premier League and La Liga are practically wide open to all-comers in comparison to the annual battle to be named the best footballer in the world. Historic seasons by a treble-winning Wesley Sneijder in 2010, Germany’s World Cup claiming, sweeper-keeper extraordinaire Manuel Neuer in 2014 and Franck Ribery, whose irresistible wing-play also inspired his club-mates to a treble in 2013, were not enough to overcome the incumbents who have swapped the honour since 2008.” Squawka