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The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in football. The award is presented by French news magazine France Football to the best performing footballer in a calendar year. Only the very best in the business have been able to lay their hands on the Ballon d'Or trophy.
Every year we see plenty of emerging talents in the world of football. Many of them are dubbed the 'new Cristiano Ronaldo' or the 'new Lionel Messi'. But it's not often that players live up to that hype. To be fair to them, it's not easy to live up to that comparison.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have exercised a duopoly over the Ballon d'Or
12 out of the last 13 Ballon d'Or awards have been won by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards while Ronaldo has won five. Their dominance has deprived a lot of world-class players of the opportunity to wrap their hands around the prestigious trophy.
But there have also been players who were expected to beat the dominant duo to the prize. However, despite being incredibly talented, some of them failed to truly maximize their potential.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who were tipped to win the Ballon d'Or but fell short.
#5 Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus)
At his best, Paulo Dybala was the closest thing we had to Lionel Messi. Hailing from Argentina, Dybala is a fleet-footed, creative attacking midfielder blessed with incredible technical ability. He signed for Juventus after an impressive stint with Palermo in 2015.
Dybala has won five successive Serie A titles at Juventus. He was also a standout performer in all of those seasons. But there is a feeling that he failed to elevate his game after a point. Unfortunately for Dybala, it was when he was hitting his peak that the Bianconeri signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentina international was subsequently deployed in a deeper role in the 2018-19 season. He had scored 26 goals and provided seven assists in 46 appearances across all competitions in the 2017-18 season for the Bianconeri. Dybala managed just 10 goals and two assists in 42 appearances in 2018-19.
A subsequent contract standoff with the club worsened the situation for Dybala. All of a sudden there was a lot of focus on what was happening away from the pitch. His form definitely suffered and he even fell down the pecking order in the 2020-21 season under Andrea Pirlo.
Following Ronaldo's departure last summer, Dybala has once again become a more important player for Juventus. He has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances across all competitions for the Old Lady this term.
But Dybala looked destined for greater heights and was once tipped to be a future Ballon d'Or winner. He has failed to deliver on that promise.
#4 Paul Pogba (France/Manchester United)
Paul Pogba is one of the most naturally gifted footballers on the planet. There are things he does on the football pitch that's inconceivable to many players. The Frenchman's exquisite technique and passing range were crucial to France's 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph.
However, Pogba has been far too inconsistent to truly hit the heights he was expected to. He had a stellar stint at Juventus and excelled in midfield for them, playing alongside veteran midfielders like Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo.
He was expected to have become mature enough to be the main man at Manchester United when he returned to the club in 2016. However, Pogba has been frugal when it comes to turning in quality performances.
While his passing range and vision are all exemplary, Pogba lacks the kind of discipline we've come to associate with world-class central midfielders. The Frenchman is also not the most hardworking player on the pitch and he is rather poor at making recoveries.
His sinusoidal graph at Manchester United speaks volumes about why Pogba could not even become a proper Ballon d'Or contender despite his abilities.
#3 Eden Hazard (Belgium/Real Madrid)
When Eden Hazard finally sealed his dream move to Real Madrid in 2019, it looked like his career was going to hit unprecedented heights. Hazard had been immense for Chelsea between 2012 and 2019.
He was the Blues' standout performer as they won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup, two Europa League titles and one League Cup in that period. Hazard was Chelsea's Player of the Year in four different seasons. He also won the Premier League Player of the Year and the PFA Players' Player of the Season Award once each.
For a while, Hazard was the best player in the world after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and he was tipped to win the Ballon d'Or at some point. He had incredible technique, close control, game intelligence and was also an excellent finisher.
But Hazard's career hit a brick wall after he joined Real Madrid. The Belgian international struggled for form amid fitness concerns and his stint at the Santiago Bernabeu has been massively underwhelming.
Having been roped in on a deal worth €115 million, he is Real Madrid's most expensive signing. But he is also now close to being written off as their biggest transfer flop. In 59 appearances across all competitions for Real Madrid in two and a half seasons, he has scored just five goals and provided 10 assists.
#2 Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid)
Gareth Bale has had an illustrious football career. It is a pity that injury issues and a love for golf over Real Madrid has come to define his career in its latter stages. At his peak, the Welshman was the best winger in the world.
Bale first grabbed the headlines at Tottenham Hotspur. He was already known for his freakish speed and technical abilities during his early days at Southampton. But at Spurs, he developed into a monster that defenders hated coming up against.
In the 2012-13 season, Bale scored 26 goals and provided 15 assists in 44 appearances for Tottenham Hotspur. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year Award in the 2010-11 and 2012-13 seasons.
His performances in the 2010-11 Champions League helped him garner attention from European heavyweights. Real Madrid made him their most expensive transfer at the time by signing him for around €90 million.
Bale's impact was instant and he helped Real Madrid win the Copa Del Rey and UEFA Champions League in his debut season in Spain. He scored in both finals as well. Alongside Ronaldo and Benzema, Bale formed an incredible attacking trio that didn't seem to have any weaknesses.
However, Bale's injury issues worsened from then on. Even though he was incredible for Real Madrid whenever he was available, he started to feature much less than he used to. Over time, Bale's relationship with Real Madrid worsened and it became clear quite soon that he was past his prime.
He had a fractured relationship with Zinedine Zidane. The French coach refused to start Bale in the 2017-18 Champions League final. The Welshman came off the bench and scored two goals to help Real Madrid win the title.
Bale has still won two La Liga titles and four Champions League titles with Real Madrid. But it's unfortunate that the Welshman never even made it to the Ballon d'Or top three despite all his talent.
#1 Neymar Jr. (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain)
When Neymar Jr. broke onto the scene, he was immediately heralded as heir-apparent to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He was the best player to come out of Brazil since Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The Brazilian had that samba flair about him and he was also an intelligent footballer.
He had no trouble settling down at Barcelona following an €86 million move in 2013. Neymar hit the ground running at the Camp Nou and started wreaking havoc alongside Lionel Messi. But it was during the 2014-15 treble-winning season that the world acknowledged the phenomenon that Neymar is.
He scored 39 goals and provided 10 assists in 51 appearances for the Catalans that season. Neymar Jr. finished third in the Ballon d'Or race in 2015 and 2017 but it's as close as he would come. He was an extremely important player for Barcelona up until his departure in the summer of 2017.
It was widely reported that Neymar left Barcelona to escape Lionel Messi's shadow and go onto achieve greater things including the Ballon d'Or. He has been exceptional for PSG. But injury issues and a lack of major trophies at both the club and international levels have stopped him from winning the Ballon d'Or.
He finished third in the Ballon d'Or in 2017 as well but could never pip Ronaldo or Messi to the most prestigious individual prize in football.
