Football's most prestigious individual award should go to the world's best player in any given year, but that is not always the case…
Many greats of the game have picked up the Ballon d'Or since it's inception back in 1956, from Real Madrid and Manchester United icons Alfredo Di Stefano and Sir Bobby Charlton, to Dutch duo Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.
The eventual recipient of the award is decided by a jury of journalists from FIFA's 100 top-ranked member nations, who pick and rank their top five from the final 30-man shortlist assembled by . More often than not, this process has led to the most worthy winner being crowned – but there have also been a few very controversial snubs down the years.
Lionel Messi won his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or at the 2023 ceremony, after inspiring Argentina to glory at the first ever mid-season World Cup in Qatar – with the voting criteria now only taking into account the achievements of the previous campaign instead of a calendar year.
That will likely be the last Golden Ball bestowed upon the Barcelona legend, who is now plying his trade in MLS with Inter Miami. Messi has dominated the Ballon d'Or voting alongside eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the best part of 15 years, but neither man was included in the final shortlist for the 2024 award, and a changing of the guard is now inevitable.
In truth, Messi can count himself lucky he managed to make it to eight. If it came down to ability alone Messi would have deserved the award every year since 2008, but that is not the case, and there has been a couple of occasions when other superstars were unfairly overlooked.
were guilty of some other questionable calls both before and after the Argentine's emergence, with GOAL on hand to rank the biggest robberies in the history of the Ballon d'Or:
Getty Images Sport9Virgil van Dijk (2019)
Jurgen Klopp's revolution at Anfield really took off after Liverpool's £75 million ($91m) capture of Virgil van Dijk. The former Southampton man quickly cemented his standing as the best centre-back in the Premier League, and the Reds amassed a staggering 97 points in his debut season – losing just once.
Incredibly, Liverpool still finished second behind Manchester City, but they went on to land their first piece of silverware in the Klopp era by beating Tottenham in an all-English Champions League final.
Van Dijk started all 50 of the Reds' Premier League and European fixtures in 2018-19, and even recorded 10 goal contributions. He was heavily backed to become only the fourth defender to win the Ballon d'Or as a result, but Messi ended up beating the Dutchman by just seven votes.
The Argentina international did rack up 51 goals and 22 assists for Barcelona, but Liverpool knocked the Spanish outfit out of the Champions League in stunning fashion – and Klopp had every right to feel disappointed for his star defender.
"The decision is made by journalists, and that's how they see it," he said. "I see it slightly different, and so do a lot of people. I cannot remember a more impressive season for a defender, ever."
AdvertisementAFP8Wesley Sneijder (2010)
Messi won his second Ballon d'Or after another prolific season for Barcelona in 2009-10 that saw him record 47 goals and 12 assists. Barca won La Liga and the FIFA Club World Cup, too, but were foiled in their pursuit of back-to-back Champions League crowns by Jose Mourinho's Inter.
Sneijder scored one and set up another as the Nerazzuri beat Barca 3-1 in the first leg of their semi-final tie, and the Italian giants progressed to the final after a defensive masterclass in the second leg at Camp Nou. The Dutch playmaker, who had arrived at San Siro from Ajax just 12 months earlier, also produced an assist in Inter's final victory over Bayern Munich – which sealed an unlikely treble for Mourinho's side.
The Netherlands then embarked on a thrilling run to the 2010 World Cup final with Sneijder pulling the strings, only to lose against Spain after extra-time. The Ajax academy graduate finished as the competition's joint-top scorer and won four Man-of-the-Match awards to underline his influence.
Amazingly, Xavi and Andres Iniesta also finished ahead of Sneijder in the Ballon d'Or ballot, leaving Inter president Massimo Moratti enraged. "I find it very unfair," he told Inter's official website. "Sneijder had a phenomenal year, won everything he could have won. It seems unfair the award is to be given to someone who, although a great player, didn't have the same level of performance throughout the year."
Getty7Erling Haaland (2023)
Messi's inspirational performances at the 2022 World Cup were what primarily earned him his eighth Ballon d'Or, as he recorded 10 goal contributions in seven appearances to help Argentina lift their third global crown. A haul of 20 goals and 21 assists for Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain was also impressive, but Messi wouldn't have even held a candle to Erling Haaland based on his club exploits alone in 2022-23.
Haaland hit 52 goals in 53 games to fire Manchester City to a historic treble. The Norwegian proved to be the final piece of puzzle for Pep Guardiola, who had previously found European success elusive at the Etihad Stadium.
City edged a lot of games purely because of Haaland's brilliance in the final third. He floored some of the best defenders in the business with his pace and strength, while showing unerring composure in front of goal time and time again – breaking numerous records along the way.
Was Messi's World Cup win enough to outweigh Haaland's insane impact across an entire season? Lothar Matthaus certainly didn't think so, with the Germany and Bayern Munich legend labelling the final vote "a farce". Former PSG star Jerome Rothen went a step further, claiming Messi "wasn't even the best player at his club".
Haaland certainly had every right to feel hard done by. Messi didn't need any extra recognition after "completing football", and City's Norwegian terminator will probably never have a better campaign on an individual or team level.
Getty Images Sport6Cristiano Ronaldo (2018)
Messi and Ronaldo's 10-year stranglehold on the Ballon d'Or was finally ended in 2018, as Luka Modric scooped the award at the grand old age of 33. Modric did play a key role in Real Madrid's 13th Champions League triumph, and was the driving force behind Croatia's surprise run to the World Cup final in Russia – but he finished the year with only three goals and 11 assists to his name.
Ronaldo really should have been awarded his sixth Golden Ball ahead of his Madrid team-mate, having netted 44 goals in as many games, including 15 in the Champions League. The Portuguese forward never spoke out publicly to voice his frustration, but his sister took to social media to slam the decision in an extraordinary rant.
“Unfortunately this is the world we live in, rotten, with mafia and f*cking money," Elma Aveiro said on Instagram. “The power of God is a lot greater than all this rottenness. God takes his time but he doesn’t fail.”
