>>150139375
>This meme that to win the Balon D'or you need to have won the CL or World Cup is a modern phenomenon
Winning the CL is a modern phenomenon, but the WC has always weighed heavily in the voting, it's usually the only thing that matters in the years the WC happens. The only times I can think of where WC performance wasn't taken into account was 2010 and 2014, because Fifa didn't want to disturb the golden goose that was the Messi/Ronaldo rivalry.