5 Superstars who were unlucky not to win the Ballon D’or


5 Superstars who were unlucky not to win the Ballon D’or

It’s almost time for the most prestigious award in the world of football to be crowned the France Football Ballon D’or. An award which has been a property of the undoubtedly two of greatest players of our generation. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both sharing the stage for more than 15 years and winning the award 11 times between them. However every top player dreams of winning the golden ball once in their career.

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The Ballon D’or shortlist and ceremonies have seen some top players who have had stellar season with club and country respectively missing out. Here’s a look at the 5 superstars who were unlucky not to win the Ballon D’or in their career.

Thierry Henry-2003

Thierry Henry(left) snubbed by Paul Nedved(right) in 2003

The French forward was surely one of the best players of his generation and an absolute legend at Arsenal. Thierry Henry had his best years of football at Arsenal than at Barcelona. However Henry finished second behind Juventus Paul Nedved and that surely raised some eyebrows. Henry had a whopping 24 goals and 20 assists in 37 matches which is still a record in the Premier League.

Henry was involved in over 50% of the Gunners’ 85 league goals that season as they finished second behind Manchester United. Nedved’s stats were not even close to Henry’s, but Czech Republic international helped his Juventus side to Champions League glory which may have given him the edge over everyone else.

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Wesley Sneijder-2010

Inter’s Wesley Sneijder winning the Champions League in 2010(left) and Lionel Messi(right) winning the 2010 Ballon D’or

Wesley Sneijder not winning the Ballon D’or in 2010 has to be one of the worst robbery in world football. Sneijder surely had the best season of his career winning the Serie A, UEFA Champions League and the Coppa Italia in 2009 with Inter managed by Jose Mourinho. Sneijder also won the UEFA best midfielder award. And not just that he also led his Netherlands side to the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup which they eventually lost to Spain. Sneijder scored five goals and won four man of the match award and was the second best player at the tournament.

However he failed to make the top three of the Ballon D’or which in the end was an all Barcelona podium with Iniesta, Xavi and Lionel Messi with the Argentine winning it in the end. Xavi was consistent for both Barcelona and Spain that year, however Iniesta had a pretty average season apart from that winning goal he scored against Netherlands in the World Cup final.

Franck Ribery-2013

Cristiano Ronaldo(left), Lionel Messi(centre) and Franck Ribery(left) at the 2013 Ballon D’or press conference

Another such case took place in 2013 once again a player winning every possible trophy. Franck Ribery won the unprecedented treble with Bayern Munich with the Frenchman being involved in his team’s 34 goals during the campaign. However both Messi and Ronaldo had great campaigns themselves, with the Barcelona man scoring 42 goals while Ronaldo scored an unrivalled 66 goals.

But the fact that the then La Liga stars had a combined of one trophy with Barcelona winning the copa del rey against Atletico Madrid compared to Ribery’s treble with Bayern Munich. Ribery won the UEFA best player award but surprisingly finished third in the Ballon D’or rankings with the Portuguese winning it and Messi coming in second place.

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Virgil van Dijk-2019

Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk(left) and Lionel Messi(right) winning the 2019 Ballon D’or

Virgil van Dijk went on to become one of the best Liverpool signing right from the off when he signed in January 2018. Van Dijk was an important part of the team and helped Liverpool to Champions League glory after 14 years. However it is always difficult for a defender to win individual accolades when there are forwards having exceptional records.

The Dutch defender finished second to Lionel Messi who had scored 51 goals and 22 assists in 50 games for Barcelona. The Argentinean was denied a chance of winning a fourth Champions League title by Van Dijk’s Liverpool after his side came from 3-0 down to win 4-3 on aggregate at Anfield. The 29 year old defender managed to win the UEFA best player award.

Robert Lewandowski-2020

Looks like Bayern Munich and Ballon D’or robbery go hand in hand and this time it was the Bayern Munich’s goal machine Robert Lewandowski who was denied a chance to win the prestigious golden ball with the event being reportedly cancelled for the year 2020 due to the ongoing Corona virus pandemic.

The Polish international had shown consistency for a couple of years and that was rewarded after Hansi Flick led Bayern Munich to their second ever treble winning season with the team and Robert Lewandowski being a level above everyone else. The Polish goal machine racked up scintillating numbers scoring 55 goals and 10 assists in 47 games for Bayern Munich. Lewandowski is a favourite to win this year’s Ballon D’or after another stellar season.

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Also read: “Carrick Got it right” – former Tottenham Hotspurs star justified the decision of benching Ronaldo