UK Sport | How the world looked last time Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t in Ballon d’Or top three with Blackpool in Premier League
CRISTIANO RONALDO fans have to look all the way back to 2010 for the last time their man finished outside the Ballon d'Or top three. But on Monday night the five-time winner could only place sixth as his great rival Lionel Messi took home yet another gong at the event in Paris.
GettyCristiano Ronaldo looked dapper despite placing sixth at the 2010 awards '/ ' 
ReutersThe Manchester United forward opted to skip this year's event '/ ' The win makes it a record seven nods for the Aregentinian maestro as the world's best player. He was the victor at the 2010 awards too \- actually held in January 2011 \- when Ronaldo last missed out on the podium. Ahead of him in fifth was ex-Manchester United flop Diego Forlan \- by then banging in goals for Atletico Madrid \- and Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas. But what else was going on in the world over a decade ago as 2010 ticked over in 2011? SunSport dusted off the history books to take a look. Most read in Football JOB FOR ROB Italy's Mancini 'a shock Man Utd manager target and interested in Prem return' 'FEARSOME STRENGTH' Liverpool and Arsenal legend Ray Kennedy dies aged 70 after illness GREAL CLOSE Grealish was 'really close' to Man Utd move which sparked £100m release clause WORKING IT OUT Man Utd's Rangnick blocked from automatic visa as work below required level RIP SKY BLUES HERO Tributes paid to Coventry FA Cup legend John Sillett who has died at 85 KYL-ER BLOW Mbappe looks furious after coming NINTH in Ballon d'Or as Messi bags crown No7 PREMIER LEAGUE THROWBACKS A scroll back through the Premier League archives shows the stunning turnover in top flight clubs over the past decade. Blackpool were in the Prem for the first time in the league's 18-year history having won promotion via the play-offs in May 2010. They didn't last long though and were relegated after a solitary season at the top of the English football pyramid. West Ham and Birmingham were the other two to go down, while the likes of Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton, Stoke and Sunderland survived before facing the drop in later years. 
Action Images - ReutersBlackpool celebrated promotion to the Premier League '/ ' LEARNER DRIVERS Back before the days of Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes' recent dominance, Sebastian Vettel was the hottest property in F1. The Red Bull driver became the sport's youngest ever champion with victory at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November 2010. His triumph came after a thrilling four-way title battle as team-mate Mark Webber, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, and Hamilton \- then at McLaren \- could have all won it at the season finale. 
Action Images - ReutersA young Sebastian Vettel beat two famous faces to the F1 title '/ ' UPSET STOMACHS A controversial Commonwealth Games wrapped up a couple of months before Ronaldo's forgettable Ballon d'Dor ceremony. The 2010 event in Delhi was hamstrung by problems \- including complaints swimmers were falling ill in the pools and fears athletes' village wasn't fit to host its elite residents. When the action did get underway, Australia waltzed away with top spot in the medals table. England finished third, with Scotland in 10th. 
AFPTom Daley took gold at the Delhi Commonwealth Games '/ ' COMIC TIMING Comedy bid a fond farewell to one of its favourite sons as Sir Norman Wisdom passed away in late 2010. The Bafta-winner was famed for slapstick roles in the 1950s and 60s and became a star in far-flung corners of the world \- including Albania, where his were the only Western movies permitted. After a pivot away from the silver screen to telly and Broadway, Wisdom lived to the grand age of 95 before dying peacefully on the Isle of Man. 
GettyNorman Wisdom passed away aged 95 '/ ' BEST PICTURE Talking of cinema \- a film about a tricky speech was the big winner at that year's Oscars. The King's Speech won Best Picture at the 83rd Academy Awards, held in February 2011 to honour the year 2010 in film. The less-regal Toy Story 3 was the highest-grossing movie of the year, while wizarding fans were treated to the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows \- the saga's epic finale. 
AlamyThe King's Speech picked up Best Picture at the Oscars '/ ' TECH TITANS The iPad was almost a year old by the time the 2010 Ballon d'Or was dished out. The late Steve Jobs launched Apple's first tablet in January 2010, followed by the iPhone 4 six months later. 
ReutersSteve Jobs debuted the first ever iPad in 2010 '/ ' POLITICAL POWERS The year 2010 saw a seismic shift in British politics after David Cameron put the final nail in the New Labour coffin.Gordon Brown was in charge until May before he was booted out by the Conservative golden boy and his new coalition chums, the Lib Dems. With Cameron and Clegg palling up in the No.10 rose garden, a bloody Labour leadership contest followed. Ed Miliband sensationally knifed his brother for the party's top job. 
Getty Images - GettyDavid Cameron and Nick Clegg launched their coalition '/ ' SAILING INTO THE SUNSET The Royal Navy's HMS Ark Royal returned home to Portsmouth from her final voyage before being decommissioned in December 2010. Military bosses announced the amphibious warfare ship HMS Albion as the Navy's next flagship \- until the vast new HMS Queen Elizabeth took over in January this year. 
HandoutHMS Ark Royal was scrapped, leaving Britain without an aircraft carrier '/ ' DIRECTION CARDS Solo crooner Matt Cardle won the seventh series of the X-Factor \- a year in which the singing competition produced some huge stars. Chart-favourites Rebecca Ferguson and Cher Lloyd appeared alongside Cardle in the final. But it was the coming together of five young lads to form One Direction that most Brits will remember from the 2010 series. 
PA:Press AssociationOne Direction were born in the X Factor's seventh series '/ ' CHAMPION JOCKEY While Ronaldo missed out on recognition at the Ballon d'Or, one of racing's biggest stars reigned supreme in Britain. Tony McCoy was named Sports Personality of the Year after claiming over 40% of the public vote. The gong capped a stunning 12 months for the then-36-year-old, who won the Grand National for the first time in his career riding Don't Push It. 
PA:Press AssociationTony McCoy and Don't Push It won the Grand National '/ ' 
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