Top 10 great stars who never won the Ballon d'Or

The Ballon d'Or is a prestigious award in world football, established in 1956 to honor the best player of the year. However, until 1995, the award exclusively recognized European players. As a result, legends like Pele and Maradona (along with many other South American players) never had the opportunity to win this accolade. Therefore, they are not considered in the list below.

Top 10 players with the most individual awards in the world: Number 1 is too easy to guess

Top 10 successful legends as both players and coaches

Paolo Maldini

Paolo Maldini, a legendary defender, is one of AC Milan and Italy's greatest icons. Despite winning 5 UEFA Champions League titles (equal to Bayern Munich and Liverpool, more than Barcelona or Man Utd), Maldini never won the Ballon d'Or. He finished third in the 1994 vote and second in the 1995 FIFA Player of the Year award.

Raul Gonzalez

Raul, an iconic player for Real Madrid, held the Champions League goal-scoring record until recently surpassed by C. Ronaldo. He won 6 La Liga and 3 Champions League titles in his career. However, Raul's highest achievement in the Ballon d'Or was finishing second in the 2001 vote (behind Owen).

Thierry Henry

Thierry Henry, the living legend of Arsenal, still holds the record for the most goals in Arsenal's history. His presence marked a new era for both Arsenal and the Premier League. Despite winning numerous titles (Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, Euro, World Cup), Henry never won the Ballon d'Or. He finished second in the 2003 vote and third in 2006.

Xavi Hernandez

During the peak years from 2008 to 2012, Xavi was the conductor and soul of Barcelona and the Spanish national team, winning all prestigious football honors. However, voters seemed to undervalue Xavi's silent contributions, leading to him finishing third in three consecutive years from 2009 to 2011.

Ferenc Puskas

Ferenc Puskas, a living legend of Real Madrid and the Hungarian national team, couldn't secure the Ballon d'Or despite his golden era. While his Real Madrid teammates like Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa won the Ballon d'Or, Puskas could only manage a second-place finish in 1960, behind Luis Suarez of Barcelona.

Frank Rijkaard

Similar to Xavi, Frank Rijkaard did not receive high recognition for his silent role. In the trio of great Dutch players, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten both won the Ballon d'Or, while Frank Rijkaard settled for third place in 1988 and 1989.

Andres Iniesta

Iniesta shared a similar fate with Xavi. Despite his outstanding performances during the golden era, Iniesta's role was often overlooked in Ballon d'Or voting, which tended to favor forwards like Messi and C. Ronaldo. In 2012, when Iniesta excelled with the Spanish national team (winning Euro), he still finished second behind Messi and C. Ronaldo. Earlier, Iniesta also secured a second-place finish in 2010.

Franco Baresi

Before Maldini, Baresi was considered a defensive icon and the exemplary captain of AC Milan. However, the role of a defender has not been highly regarded in individual awards, despite Baresi's numerous collective honors. In 1989, he finished second in the Ballon d'Or voting, despite captaining AC Milan to a Champions League victory.

Gianluigi Buffon

In football history, Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or. Even at the peak of his career, helping Italy win the 2006 World Cup, Buffon finished second, behind Cannavaro.

Kenny Dalglish

Moving to Liverpool to replace Kevin Keegan, Kenny Dalglish was under a lot of pressure. However, the Scottish legend played extremely well, scoring 31, 28 and 22 goals respectively in the first 3 seasons. He also contributed to helping Liverpool win 3 C1 Cups and 5 consecutive English championships. However, Kenny Dalglish's highest achievement was only coming second in the 1983 Golden Ball election after Michel Platini. Before that, he was not even in the top 3.