Top 10 Best Players Never to Win the Ballon d’Or
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Top 10 Best Players Never to Win the Ballon d’Or

Top 10 Best Players Never to Win the Ballon d’Or

In light of the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony on 22 September, Ousmane Dembélé collected his maiden Ballon d’Or award after a phenomenal individual year, as his 46 goal contributions played a crucial role in Paris Saint-Germain’s Quadruple-winning campaign.



The prestigious award has been awarded to many footballing greats over the past 70 years, but with the trophy being awarded just once every year, not everyone is able to get their hands on it, no matter how influential they are or were in their respective team.

In this piece, Football Park will be highlighting and giving a ‘loose’ ranking of 10 of the greatest football players to have never been able to claim the award as their own.

Disclaimer: We are not including the likes of Pele or Diego Maradona in this list, since the award couldn’t have been given to players outside of Europe until 1995.


10. Robert Lewandowski – PB: 2nd (2021)

Perhaps the most unfortunate player to miss out on the award on this list, the Polish goal machine was everyone’s favorite to receive the Ballon d’Or in 2020 after his incredible goalscoring year, with 40 in just 36 games amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which became the reason he potentially missed out, as the ceremony was cancelled.

Despite his venture into the TikTok world during said pandemic, the then 32-year-old continued his impressive form in front of goal, as he has done for his entire career, scoring a further 69 goals in all competitions, falling to one Lionel Messi.

After 42 goals during the 2024/25 campaign alone, some would feel his 17th place finish at the 2025 edition suggests that even performing as well as, if not better than, the world’s current leading strikers at the ripe old age of 37 is no longer worth the recognition Lewandowski may have once received for his outstanding attacking returns year after year.



9. Mo Salah – PB: 4th (2025)

The Egyptian King’s fourth-place ranking surpassed his previous best of fifth in 2019 and 2022, and it was quite a shock to me that Salah’s fourth place on Monday evening was his best finish considering how influential he has been in the Liverpool squad.

Since joining the club in 2017, the 33-year-old has failed to surpass the 30-goal mark in all competitions in just two out of his eight full seasons at Merseyside. His record-breaking number of goal contributions in the Premier League made his tally 57 in just 52 games last season, not quite eclipsing his 58 in the same number of appearances during his debut season, but still a mightily impressive number.

Ever since that 2018 Champions League semi-final performance that caught the eye of Jürgen Klopp, Salah has only ever impressed the wider footballing world, silencing his doubters from the day he arrived at the Reds. When he inevitably exits Liverpool, he will leave a legacy that may even match the reputation of Steven Gerrard, and he will without a doubt go down as one of the greatest players to have not won the Ballon d'Or, let alone even be nominated to finish in the top three.



8. Eden Hazard – PB: 8th (2015)

The Belgian received the highest of praises in the English game throughout his seven years at Stamford Bridge and was compared to the likes of Messi when in his prime in West London.

Despite his never-ending production of magical moments and glamorous goals, Hazard never received this same praise on a global scale. Although he had an incredible 2014/15 season, starring for the Blues on their way to their fourth PL title, as well as winning the PFA Player of the Year award, this was only enough to see him rise to eighth in the Ballon d'Or rankings despite him deserving much more.

During the 2017/18 campaign, the Belgian achieved a similar attacking return, while playing a pivotal role in his country’s road to third place at the World Cup, although here the Ballon d’Or was rightfully awarded to Luka Modrić.



7. Luis Suarez – PB: 4th (2014)

So far, we have seen a relative pattern to these picks in that the players who won the award also lifted the Champions League the same year – it is no different here for Luis Suarez.

There was only one issue with playing alongside Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during their reign of supremacy, and it was that it was nearly impossible to outshine these two greats (only Modrić was able to do so). So, despite the Uruguayan’s simply outstanding goalscoring year for both Liverpool and Barcelona, it wasn’t enough to eclipse the efforts of CR7, as he led his side to a UCL triumph.

Suarez did win two European Golden Shoes during his career but was never able to find enough in the tank to outdo either of the world’s best.



6. Gianluigi Buffon – PB: 2nd

Now, to show some love for the goalkeepers. The ‘keeper is arguably the toughest position in the modern game – they are on the receiving end of hatred and abuse for any small mistake, while they rarely receiving praise because they are “just doing their job.”

Lev Yashin is the only goalie to receive the award, and we are not confident in any ‘keeper winning the Ballon d’Or again any time soon. Only Buffon and Manuel Neuer have gotten anywhere close in recent times, with both missing out in unfortunate fashion.

In Buffon’s case, the legendary goalkeeper came runner-up in 2006, after winning the World Cup. Fabio Cannavaro won the award that year, leaving Buffon not only one of the best players to not win this award, but also one of the greatest to have never lifted the Champions League.



5. Xavi – PB: 3rd (2009, 2010, 2011)

Although the limelight shines brightest on those scoring 40+ times a season, receiving all the praise in the process, attention must also be given to those who make it happen. And Xavi fits the description perfectly.

The Spaniard always controlled the game at an elite level, changing the tempo when required and altering the direction if necessary; he had a particular talent for delivering a world-class ball from nowhere to turn a game on its head.

At the heart of Barca’s midfield for nigh on 15 years, much of the Catalan club’s success came down to the engine room in the middle of the park—whether that be Andres Iniesta or Xavi himself, it is truly shocking how Xavi never received that global recognition that the Ballon d'Or gives.



4. Neymar – PB: 3rd (2015, 2017)

Neymar is another player who will easily go down as one of the all-time greats to never achieve the prestigious award. From his academy days in Santos to his inspiring rise to the top at Barcelona, injuries completely obliterated his opportunities for an award that would have otherwise been inevitable for him.

The Brazilian brought everything you would expect onto the pitch – passion, flair, and the innate drive to create constant highlight reels as trophies flew straight into his cabinet.

Now Neymar is back at Santos, his chances at winning the award are long gone, and Neymar will go down as one of the biggest “what ifs?”, as he was denied the one individual award he was seemingly destined for since his arrival at the Camp Nou in 2013.



3. Thierry Henry – PB: 2nd (2003)

The Frenchman is just another on this list whose pure statistics and skills would have had him feeling hard done by for not receiving the award. Henry fell just short to the great Pavel Nedved in 2003, which many believed was robbed away from the Frenchman.

Henry’s Arsenal days were without a doubt his most productive, and although he never lifted the Champions League in north London, his legacy for the Gunners earned him one of the inaugural spots in the Premier League Hall of Fame.

A legend in France, an icon at Arsenal, yet the world’s most prestigious award always dodged him, much to many fans’ disagreement - and when looking at the stats below,you start to believe that maybe this agenda is correct...



2. Paolo Maldini – PB: 3rd (1994, 2003)

These two best finishes coming nine years apart just express the elite-level consistency that Maldini displayed throughout his decorated career.

One of true loyalty to the badge, Maldini’s 25-year career spent at AC Milan certainly brought much unprecedented success to this historical city. An incredibly gifted defender, he won three Champions League titles in three different decades, won a near-record five overall, and put Milan on top of Italian football on seven occasions.

Maldini was a true stalwart in the backline for decades, and with his consistent level and being the brick wall that he was, he squashed the competition in the battle to be the best defender in the world for many of his years. He could never quite eclipse the rest of the world’s talent in a standalone year, as he failed to ever get his hands on this coveted trophy.



1. Andres Iniesta – PB: 2nd (2010)

Iniesta formed the other half to Xavi during Barcelona’s unrivaled reign in the late naughties and early tens, as Barca won the historic sextuple in 2009.

It wasn’t until a year later, however, that Iniesta came runner-up in the 2010 edition, unfortunately falling short to Messi once more. Iniesta and Xavi were like Mario and Luigi on the pitch, offering such incredible value with their brother-like bond and dual anticipation for the game in front of them.

The Spaniard could read the game like no other, and he topped the year with that incredible extra-time winning goal in the World Cup final. Unfortunately, it was not enough to see Iniesta win a Ballon d'Or which he so deserved at some point throughout his career.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Ben Growdon

Content Writer

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