Football has a habit of giving its biggest individual prizes to players whose brilliance is impossible to ignore, yet some of the finest careers have ended without that golden trophy ever finding its way into the player’s hands. Sometimes the timing is unfortunate, sometimes a teammate is even better, and occasionally the people casting the votes seem to value a different kind of greatness.
The Ballon d’Or has celebrated goalscorers, creative geniuses, defensive leaders and players who turned entire seasons into personal showcases. Still, its history raises some uncomfortable questions. How does a World Cup-winning midfielder miss out after deciding the final? Why can a defender collect European titles for decades without winning football’s most famous individual honour? And what happens when your best years coincide with two of the greatest players the game has ever seen?
These are 10 footballers whose careers make those questions worth asking, ranked by the strength of their achievements, influence and individual brilliance.
10. Andrea Pirlo
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 5th (2007)
Watching Andrea Pirlo play could feel like watching someone solve a problem before everybody else had noticed it existed. While opponents chased possession, the Italian midfielder would stand in space, lift his head and deliver a pass that changed the entire shape of the match.
His influence stretched across successful spells at AC Milan and Juventus, while his performances for Italy helped the national team win the 2006 World Cup. Pirlo also won two Champions League titles with Milan, proving that his measured style could thrive on the biggest club stage.
Still, his Ballon d’Or record never quite matched his reputation, with fifth place in 2007 his highest finish. The award often favours goals and spectacular individual moments, whereas Pirlo’s greatest contribution was making difficult football look strangely uncomplicated.
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9. Gianluigi Buffon
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 2nd (2006)
Goalkeepers have always faced a difficult argument when competing against outfield players for individual awards, because preventing a goal rarely attracts the same attention as scoring one. Gianluigi Buffon came closer than almost anyone to overcoming that bias.
His second-place finish in 2006 followed an extraordinary year in which he helped Italy win the World Cup, conceding only twice during the tournament, with one of those goals an own goal and the other a penalty. His performances gave Italy a commanding presence at the back and made him a serious contender for the sport’s highest individual honour.
Fabio Cannavaro ultimately won the award, also benefiting from Italy’s triumph. Buffon continued to build an exceptional career with Juventus, collecting domestic honours and remaining an elite goalkeeper well into his later years. The Champions League remained the major club trophy missing from his collection, though that hardly diminishes his standing among football’s finest shot-stoppers.
8. Kylian Mbappé
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 2nd (2026)
At an age when many forwards are still learning how to handle elite defenders, Kylian Mbappé was already scoring in World Cup finals and carrying the expectations of an entire country. His acceleration, finishing and ability to attack open space made him one of the most feared forwards of his generation.
He helped France win the 2018 World Cup as a teenager and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final against Argentina, although France eventually lost on penalties. His individual performances have repeatedly placed him among the leading contenders for the Ballon d’Or.
The breakthrough finally seemed close in 2026, when he finished second behind Harry Kane in the voting. Kane’s outstanding season, which included 73 goals for club and country, proved decisive. For Mbappé, the wait continues, despite achievements that would define the careers of many other forwards.
SEE ALSO | 6 Ballon d’Or Winners Without a Trophy
7. Neymar
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 3rd (2015 and 2017)
For a while, Neymar looked like the natural heir to football’s biggest individual prizes. He had the close control to escape crowded defences, the imagination to create chances from apparently impossible positions and the confidence to attempt things other players would dismiss as too risky.
His finest club achievements included winning the Champions League with Barcelona in 2015, when he formed a devastating attacking partnership with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Neymar also helped Brazil win Olympic gold on home soil in 2016, scoring in the final against Germany.
The Ballon d’Or, however, remained out of reach. Finishing third in 2015 and 2017 reflected his elite standing, although sharing a team with Messi meant that Neymar often had to compete for recognition while contributing to the same success. Injuries later disrupted his momentum, leaving a career full of brilliance and trophies alongside the lingering question of how much more he might have achieved with better fortune.
6. Dennis Bergkamp
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 2nd (1993)
Dennis Bergkamp played football with an imagination that could make a defender feel as though he had been invited into a trap without realising it. His first touch could take a ball out of danger, create a shooting opportunity or eliminate an opponent before the rest of the move had even begun.
His early career brought major success at Ajax, including the UEFA Cup in 1992, before a difficult spell at Inter Milan preceded his move to Arsenal in 1995. In north London, he became central to the club’s rise under Arsène Wenger, helping Arsenal win three Premier League titles and three FA Cups.
Bergkamp finished second in the 1993 Ballon d’Or voting, during his Ajax years, and later became one of the Premier League’s most admired forwards. His influence extended beyond goals and assists: he changed how Arsenal attacked, linking midfield and the forward line with a level of technical control that made complicated moves appear effortless.
SEE ALSO | Top Greatest Players to Never Win the Champions League
5. Luis Suárez
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 4th (2016)
Few strikers combined aggression, movement and finishing quite like Luis Suárez, whose ability to turn half-chances into goals made him one of the most difficult forwards to defend against during his peak years. His 2013-14 season at Liverpool was especially extraordinary, as he scored 31 Premier League goals despite missing the opening five matches through suspension.
Liverpool came agonisingly close to winning the league, while Suárez shared the European Golden Shoe with Cristiano Ronaldo. His move to Barcelona in 2014 brought another level of team success, including the 2015 Champions League title, with Suárez scoring in the final against Juventus.
The problem was the company he kept. Playing alongside Messi and Neymar made Barcelona devastating, although it also meant that Suárez rarely received the same individual recognition as his Argentine teammate. He finished fourth in the 2016 Ballon d’Or voting, despite winning the European Golden Shoe that year. His trophy cabinet was full, but the biggest individual prize remained beyond his reach.
4. Xavi
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 3rd (2009, 2010 and 2011)
Xavi Hernández had a gift that can be difficult to appreciate through highlights alone: he could control the speed, direction and mood of a football match without needing to dominate the ball for spectacular individual moments. His passing made Barcelona’s possession-based football work, turning pressure into space and keeping opponents chasing shadows.
He won four Champions League titles with Barcelona and helped Spain secure the European Championship in 2008 and 2012, as well as the 2010 World Cup. His understanding with Andrés Iniesta and Sergio Busquets became the foundation of one of the most influential midfields in modern football.
Xavi finished third in the Ballon d’Or voting three times, including 2010, when Barcelona teammates occupied all three podium places. Messi won, Iniesta finished second and Xavi came third. The result captured the difficulty of recognising a player whose greatest achievement was often making everybody around him better.
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3. Paolo Maldini
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 3rd (1994 and 2003)
Defenders rarely receive the same attention as attackers, yet Maldini spent a quarter of a century showing how much influence a defender could have on a team’s identity. He read danger early, positioned himself intelligently, and often made tackling look unnecessary because he had already closed the space an opponent wanted to exploit.
His entire senior club career was spent at AC Milan, where he won seven Serie A titles and five European Cups or Champions League titles. He captained the club through different generations, adapting from left-back to centre-back while maintaining an extraordinary level of consistency.
Maldini finished third in the Ballon d’Or voting in both 1994 and 2003.
In the latter year, he had just lifted the Champions League trophy as captain, yet Pavel Nedvěd won the award, and Thierry Henry finished ahead of him. Maldini’s career offers a useful reminder that football greatness can be built on stopping the moments that make other players famous.
2. Andrés Iniesta
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 2nd (2010)
Some goals become part of a country’s history, and Andrés Iniesta’s strike against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final belongs firmly in that category. Scored in extra time, it gave Spain their first men’s World Cup title and confirmed Iniesta’s place among the defining players of his generation.
At Barcelona, he formed a remarkable midfield partnership with Xavi, helping the club win multiple La Liga titles and Champions League trophies. Iniesta brought a different kind of magic to the pairing, using close control, balance and quick changes of direction to escape pressure in spaces where most players would struggle to turn.
He finished second in the 2010 Ballon d’Or voting, behind Messi, despite scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final. Messi had an outstanding year of his own, so the result was hardly inexplicable, although Iniesta’s international achievement made a compelling case for a different winner. Few runners-up have had a stronger moment to put before the voters.
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1. Thierry Henry
Best Ballon d’Or finish: 2nd (2003)
Thierry Henry at his peak was the kind of forward who could make a defender’s afternoon miserable before the match had properly settled. He had the pace to run beyond the back line, the technique to finish from awkward angles and the vision to create chances for teammates when a shot seemed the obvious choice.
At Arsenal, he became the central figure in Arsène Wenger’s attacking side, winning two Premier League titles and two FA Cups. His contribution to the unbeaten 2003-04 league campaign remains one of the defining achievements in English football, while his performances for France included a World Cup triumph in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000.
The Ballon d’Or disappointment came in 2003, when Henry finished second behind Pavel Nedvěd. Henry had produced an outstanding season, although Arsenal’s European campaign was less convincing than their domestic performances, a factor that may have weakened his case.
Even without the award, Henry’s standing among the Premier League’s greatest forwards is secure. He combined production with style, and his influence reached beyond the numbers on a scoresheet.
Honorable Mentions
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Steven Gerrard
- Frank Lampard
- Paul Scholes
- Robert Lewandowski
- Vinicius Jr
- Lamine Yamal
- Francesco Totti
- Erling Haaland
- Arjen Robben
- Franck Ribery
- Wesley Sneijder
