The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award in football, recognizing the world’s best player each year. However, throughout its history, there have been several controversial decisions that left fans, players, and pundits questioning the legitimacy of the voting process. Whether due to favoritism, international success outweighing individual brilliance, or tactical voting, some players who clearly deserved the award were denied their golden moment.
From undisputed legends who were overlooked to years when the best-performing player was controversially snubbed, here are the 10 biggest Ballon d’Or robberies ever.
10. Deco (2004)
Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko added his name to the list of Ballon d’Or winners in 2004 after scoring 36 goals in all competitions to help AC Milan win Serie A and the Italian Suppercup.
Shevchenko was arguably one of the best centre-forwards on the planet that year, but he somehow won more votes than three players ahead of him – Deco, Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry.
Ronaldinho enjoyed a superb debut season at Barcelona, which he finished with 28 goals and won the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Meanwhile, Arsenal striker Henry won the European Golden Boot with 46 goals in 2003-04 and played a vital role in the Gunners’ historic unbeaten Premier League campaign.
Both had strong claims for the Ballon d’Or which went to Shevchenko, but Deco had the biggest reason to be upset after winning three trophies with Porto under Mourinho.
The little wizard scored nine goals and assisted 25 for Porto, who won the Champions League.
9. Ferenc Puskas should have won over Luis Suarez in 1960
Barcelona lifted the 1959/60 Spanish title – and just as you’d expect these days, their bitter rivals, Real, bettered them to snatch the European Cup (back when they’d turn up for awards).
Barça’s superstar of the time, Luis Suarez (not that one) was given the 1960 Ballon d’Or after winning La Liga… yet the Catalans had literally won the league on their head-to-head record in the Clasico. Ferenc Puskas, meanwhile, can feel a little aggrieved that he’d been the better player, simply on the losing side across two league games.
Puskas struck a simply bonkers 47 goals in 36 appearances in the 1959/60 season and scored four goals (four, that’s insane) in the European Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt. Not bad for a player who was winding down, yet he finished second to Suarez.
8. Wesley Sneijder (2010)
Still to this day, Wesley Sneijder’s 2010 is the stuff of legends. Were it not for an outstretched leg from Iker Casillas in the World Cup final, perhaps the playmaker would have completed an iconic sweep of four trophies.
Sneijder was the gem, the genius and the poster-boy of Jose Mourinho’s Treble-winning Inter Milan side – assuming of course Jose wasn’t the poster-boy himself – but while a World Cup final loss didn’t matter when it came to Luka Modric winning the 2018 award, it counted against the Dutchman. The podium that year belonged to La Masia, with Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi standing proud, crowned the three best players on Earth.
Yes, Leo had an unbelievable 12 months statistically. But Sneijder must have felt a little aggrieved looking at that trio… especially when he’d won a Champions League at the expense of all three of them and Messi hadn’t beaten him in the World Cup final. It still rankles for some fans.
7. Antoine Griezmann (2018)
In 2018, the Ronaldo/Messi duopoly in the BDO was finally ended by a midfielder. It was a win for football not being decided by stats – but in FourFourTwo’s opinion… still not right.
Sure, Luka Modric was a very good player but seemed to get the award by proxy of being a key member of Real Madrid’s all-conquering side of that year, and leading Croatia to a World Cup final. But was he the best player in the world? Few would say so. Some would even call it a travesty that he picked up the gong while Toni Kroos, Xavi or Andres Iniesta never did.
2018 was the year that Cristiano Ronaldo scored 44 goals in as many games en route to a third consecutive Champions League title, while Mohamed Salah scored an unprecedented (back then, anyway) 32 Premier League goals in just 36 games, taking an unfancied Liverpool to a Champions League final. Both were worthier winners – but it felt like the BDO voters had simply had enough of Messi and CR7 winning.
Perhaps the biggest victim, meanwhile, was Antoine Griezmann. The fulcrum of France’s second World Cup-winning side and the heart of Atletico Madrid’s Europa League winners, arguably the strongest winners of the competition ever. Modric had a great season, of course… but has it gone down in history?
6. Vinicius Jr. (2024)
In 2024, the whole world expected Vinicius Jr to win the award, but it went to Rodri.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri certainly had a strong case to win the award as he excelled both defensively and offensively for Man City as they won the Premier League before he was named Spain’s Player of the Tournament as they triumphed in Euro 2024.
However, the 2023/2024 season was marked by the rise of Vinicius, who became the best attacking player in football.
He scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final, created a number of late goals and assists as Carlo Ancelotti’s side won La Liga and the Champions League. A run which Vinicius ended by scoring in the final victory over Borussia Dortmund.
5. Erling Haaland (2023)
Leo Messi’s inspirational performances at the 2022 World Cup earned him his eighth Ballon d’Or as he scored 10 goals in seven appearances to help Argentina lift their third crown.
He also had 20 goals and 21 assists for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain, but Messi’s figures were nowhere near Erling Haaland’s.
Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games to lead Manchester City to a historic treble.
4. Oliver Kahn or Raul (2001)
Let’s keep this balanced – at least as much as we can. Michael Owen’s 2001 Ballon d’Or is one of the most derided award results in the history of football for a number of reasons: the young England striker wasn’t even playing Champions League football that season, didn’t win a league title and only scored 16 league goals all campaign.
Equally, there wasn’t that much competition for the Ballon d’Or. If you were voting purely from achievements, Owen completed a unique haul with Liverpool and was their best player. That justifies his title somewhat – but where the controversy comes is that some say he never had the ability to be crowned the best player on Earth.
Raul and Oliver Kahn both had a claim to that. The former won La Liga, the latter the Champions League; both were influential for their sides but not standout cases for the award. Depending on how irate you are that Owen got the gong, either would have been a good choice.
3. Franck Ribery (2013)
Bayern Munich became the first German club ever to win the treble in the 2012-13 season under Jupp Heynckes.
The likes of Thomas Muller, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schëeinsteiger were in their prime for Bayern, but Ribery was the real architect of their success, with the Frenchman amassing 34 goals in all competitions.
Despite the trophies and numbers, Ronaldo and Messi were ahead of him in the Ballon d’Or voting.
Ronaldo won the award after scoring 55 goals for Real Madrid, but they did not win any trophies.
2. Robert Lewandowski (2020 & 2021)
Bayern Munich won the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League in the 2019-2020 season, and Lewandowski was the top striker in the world with 55 goals.
Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic robbed the Pole of what would surely have been his first Ballon d’Or.
The 2020 ceremony was canceled after the French authorities took the decision to cancel the Ligue 1 season.
Lewandowski bounced back, scoring another 62 goals for Bayern in all competitions in 2021. It seemed like a formality that he would finally be awarded the Ballon d’Or he had been denied the year before – and he ended up collecting a grand total of 580 voting points.
Unfortunately, he was 33 votes behind Messi, who won again.
1. Thierry Henry (2003)
If Henry was unfortunate not to win the Ballon d’Or in 2004, it’s fair to say he was completely robbed a year earlier, having set new standards of excellence in the Premier League.
The Frenchman recorded 24 goals and 25 assists for Arsenal, and to this day remains the only player in English football history to surpass the 20 mark in both categories in a single season.
He also scored seven goals in the Champions League, but ultimately came second to Pavel Nedved when it was time to hand out the Ballon d’Or.
Juventus won the Scudetto and reached the final of the European Cup, where they lost on penalties to old rivals AC Milan.
But the Czech Republic star didn’t come close to Henry in terms of individual brilliance. In fact, no one could compare to the Arsenal captain that year, and it is a ‘crime’ that he does not have a Ballon d’Or.
Final thoughts
The Ballon d’Or remains football’s most coveted individual honor, but history has shown that even the most prestigious awards are not immune to controversy. Some of the greatest players of all time have been denied their rightful recognition, whether due to politics, bias, or the influence of major tournaments. While debates over past winners will never end, these robberies remind us that talent alone is not always enough to win the award.
As football continues to evolve, fans can only hope that future Ballon d’Or votes will reflect true performance rather than narratives or reputation. But one thing is certain—some injustices will never be forgotten.
