He scored 230 goals in 559 games during his club career. He is widely-regarded as Scotland's greatest ever player and holds a record 102 caps for his country. His honours as a player included six First Division titles and three European Cups, with his final win in 1983, the year that he finished runner-up to France's Michel Platini in the Ballon d'Or. The Glaswegian is a legend at both Celtic Park and Anfield, a club where he spent 13 trophy-laden years. Known to Liverpool fans as 'King Kenny,' Scottish striker Dalglish is arguably the most famous Brit not to win the award. The Los Blancos legend's 1960 second-place finish was the only time he made the top three in the Ballon d'Or voting, as Madrid team-mate Alfredo Di Stefano tended to take the limelight. Puskas even played for the Spain national side for four matches as well as making an appearance in a friendly for South Liverpool in 1967. He ended his career with 514 goals in 529 games in the Hungarian and Spanish divisions. To many soccer fans, Puskas is known for being associated with the award for FIFA's 'most beautiful goal,' handed out on the same night as the Ballon d'Or, something which continues to celebrate his legacy. The enigmatic striker famously told the Bernabeu club before signing him in 1958: "I can't play, I'm too fat." He is best remembered for his four goals for Real Madrid against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Hampden Park-held European Cup final of 1960, one of his three continental triumphs. Puskas left his mark on the game without winning its most prestigious individual prize. Ferenc PuskasĪ key member of the acclaimed 1950s Olympic gold-winning Hungarian national team for whom he scored 84 goals in 85 appearances. Not that either player needed further validation. Pele had long since retired by then and Maradona was in the twilight of his career back in Argentina. Unfortunately, the South American duo weren't eligible for the award as the Ballon d'Or was only opened up to non-Europeans in 1995. So, adding fuel to the fire, here's Planet Sport's take on the 10 best players to miss out on the Ballon d'Or.īefore we get to our list, we must confront the two elephants in the room - Pele and Diego Maradona. Most of the disquiet centres around who was overlooked, rather than who got the ultimate backing of a panel selected from 176 voting nations. However, like any award, it brings debate and controversy as part of the package. Over the following 65 years, some of the finest to have ever played the beautiful game have received the accolade from Sir Stanley Matthews to Lionel Messi. The American was not among the 20 nominees.Ever since French news magazine France Football created the Ballon d'Or or 'Golden Ball' in 1956, the award has become the highest individual honour in soccer. Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland - viewed as Ballon d’Or winners of the future - also feature alongside Neymar and Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah, the leading Premier League scorer this term.īarcelona captain Alexia Putellas, the UEFA women’s player of the year, is a leading candidate to succeed 2019 Ballon d’Or winner Megan Rapinoe. He was also given a 75,000-euro ($84,000) fine.įive members of Italy’s Euro 2020-winning squad feature on the 30-man shortlist, including Chelsea midfielder and Champions League winner Jorginho.
However the France star this week received a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in a bid to blackmail his former international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape. Karim Benzema received support from Thierry Henry, Zinedine Zidane and tennis star Rafael Nadal following a tremendous year with Real Madrid. The Champions League’s all-time top scorer has struck in all five games in Europe during his second spell at Manchester United but appears an outside contender for a sixth Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo last took home the trophy in 2017.
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