Pick the best player never to have won Ballon d’Or

Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Andres Iniesta, David Beckham, among others, are listed like a who’s who of football greats.

They all have dazzling careers and numerous awards, but none of them have ever won the men’s Ballon d’Or.

The prestigious annual award has been handed out since 1956 when two French sportswriters wanted to recognise the world’s best talent.

The list of winners features superstars, with Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho, Brazil team-mates, all receiving the top honors.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fought it out for the top spot in a domination that first appeared in 2008.

In the decade that followed, no-one else got a look-in as the two greatest players on the planet shared the top prize.

Dennis Bergkamp is justifiably regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, but as with so many others the Ballon d’Or eluded him.

The £7.5 million deal from Inter Milan, which Arsenal broke, was a wise investment.

Under Arsene Wenger, Bergkamp enjoyed a fruitful run of success, winning three league titles, including the “Invincibles” campaign in 2003-2004 and three FA Cups.

Bergkamp had his fair share of iconic moments too – his 1997 hat-trick against Leicester will live long in the memory. In France 98, he also scored for the Netherlands against Argentina, one of the greatest World Cup goals.

Another Arsenal great would be a contender for the best player in Premier League history.

With a goal-scoring record to back up his signing, Thierry Henry quickly rose to prominence as one of Europe’s most feared strikers after joining the Gunners in 1999.

In one of Europe’s top five leagues, he became the first player to score at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a single season. Only Lionel Messi has since matched that in domestic league action.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he’s also one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs – Santos, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain in his case.

In case you’re wondering, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Romario, and legendary Spanish striker Isidro Langara are the others who have accomplished the feat.

Known for his lightning-fast dribbling and phenomenal finishing, the sight of Kylian Mbappe running at any defence is a frightening prospect.

He’s in excellent company on a global stage. In a World Cup final where France won the trophy in 2018, Mbappe became the second teenager to do so in the same way as Pele.

His club record is pretty phenomenal, too.

Mbappe quickly established himself at Real Madrid after scoring the highest goal in a record six straight seasons with PSG.

We’ve already mentioned Robert Lewandowski and it would be unfair to leave him off this list.

The Polish international could have easily prevailed in the Covid pandemic had the 2020 Ballon d’Or not been called off.

He had just completed the most incredible season of his life, scoring 55 goals overall for Bayern Munich.

“I was in the best moment of my career, I won everything with my club”, the striker, now at Barcelona, told the BBC.

Haaland has also made an impact in Europe. The Norwegian was the quickest player to reach that milestone by scoring 50 Champions League goals in just 49 games.

Surely he can’t beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time record of 141 goals in that competition?

However, if he continues to score at this rate, Haaland will be a contender for the Ballon d’Or in the future.

Had it not been for the ridiculous levels Messi and Ronaldo were producing week in, week out, then midfield maestro Andres Iniesta would probably have a Ballon d’Or trophy on his mantelpiece.

Iniesta made his debut in the club’s midfield after graduating from Barcelona’s La Masia academy, where she won 32 medals in 16 glittering seasons, including nine La Liga titles and four Champions League victories.

Iniesta scored 13 goals for Spain overall, including the 2010 World Cup winner against the Netherlands. He captained the country 131 times.

He finished his international career having won a World Cup and two European Championships.

As for British winners, you have to go back to 2001 when Liverpool’s Michael Owen took the honour.

Only a small number of British players have participated in the Ballon d’Or since then.

In 2005, Frank Lampard finished second behind Ronaldinho, with Steven Gerrard third.

In 2024, Jude Bellingham placed third, but there were no Britons in the top three in the intervening years.

Unlike Old Trafford legends Law, Charlton and Best, Manchester United’s famous ‘ Class of ‘ 92 ‘ missed out on Ballon d’Or trophy recognition.

David Beckham, one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most well-known young guns, made his mark with one of the Premier League’s most famous goals in 1996-1997.

A young Beckham looked up and saw Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line while inside his own half with the ball at his feet. The rest is history.

Of course, there were many other titles, including United’s Treble in 1999.

The truth is clear. Giggs won 13 league titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups, and two Champions Leagues. Not a bad experience.

One of his generation’s greatest players also scored a memorable FA Cup goal. Who can forget that iconic moment against Arsenal?

Lampard is one of Chelsea’s greatest English midfielders ever, and he has a reputation for scoring 211 goals overall.

Perhaps his best performance came in the Champions League final of 2005.

Liverpool were 3-0 down to AC Milan at half-time and looked on course for a hiding. However, Gerrard had other ideas.

One of football’s greatest comebacks came with Gerrard’s goal early in the second half, and it was the result of his team’s victory.

Since joining the Bavarians, the 32-year-old has scored 98 goals in 103 games.

If the England captain is ever tempted by a move back to England then Alan Shearer may be a little worried – with 213 goals, Kane is not far behind Shearer’s Premier League record of 260.

We’ve forgotten someone, right? Probably . Almost certainly.

There are many contenders, but we haven’t mentioned any of the footballing greats: Xavi, Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Bale, Gianluigi Buffon, Virgil van Dijk, etc.