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The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award a footballer can win in the game.
Introduced by French Football in 1956, the Ballon d'Or is an annual prize given to the best player for club and country during the year. Coaches and captains of all national teams and select journalists make their top three nominations from a previously announced shortlist of players. The player with the most 'top' nominations wins the award.
Although the award has been made open to players across the globe since 2007, only top-five league players have won the Ballon d'Or since 1995.
This year's Ballon d'Or shortlist contains a plethora of attackers, as is usually the case. Italy's Euro 2020-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, midfielder Jorginho, and defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci failed to make the cut.
Over the years, many top players have received Ballon d'Or nominations, but not all have won the prestigious accolade. On that note, here's a look at eight players with the most Ballon d'Or nominations in history:
#8 Zinedine Zidane - 8 (1998 Ballon d'Or winner)
Zinedine Zidane is widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the game's history.
The Frenchman received eight Ballon d'Or nominations during his illustrious playing career. He made only three podium finishes, though, winning the award in 1998 and finishing third and second in 1997 and 2000 respectively.
Zidane won league titles with Juventus (2) and Real Madrid (1). With the Merengues, Zidane won the 2002 Champions League, where his blistering volley in the final against Bayer Leverkusen sealed Madrid's ninth win in the competition.
He also found success with France, winning the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and the European Championship two years later.
#7 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 11
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the most decorated players to have graced the game, especially since the turn of the century.
He has won league titles in four different countries, bagging five top-scorer awards. However, the Ballon d'Or is conspicuous by its absence in his glittering resume. Ibrahimovic has been nominated on 11 occasions for the prestigious award, but didn't once finish on the podium.
Nevertheless, the 40-year-old remains a top performer for club and country. The all-time Sweden top-scorer recently notched up his 500th goal in club football.
Now at AC Milan, Ibrahimovic has shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
#6 Gianluigi Buffon - 11
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the best players in history never to have won the Ballon d'Or award.
Widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers to have graced the game, Buffon is still going strong at the age of 43. He has received 11 Ballon d'Or nominations but made the podium only once, finishing second to compatriot Fabio Cannavaro in 2006.
In one of his most recent Ballon d'Or nominations in 2017, Buffon finished fourth, behind winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
During a storied Serie A career spanning 25 years, the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner kept a record 299 clean sheets. Buffon has won 11 league titles, 10 of them with Juventus.
Now back at his boyhood club Parma, Buffon has kept four clean sheets in 11 games. Buffon harbours hopes of representing Italy at the 2022 FIFA World Cup before hanging up his boots.
#5 Franz Beckenbauer - 12 (Two-time Ballon d'Or winner)
Franz Beckenbauer is widely regarded as one of the best defenders to have graced the game.
Der Kaiser pioneered the sweeper role (libero) to great effect in the 1960s and 70s. He is the first player to win two Ballon d'Or awards, achieving the milestone with his second win in 1976, four years after his first.
Beckenbauer, who started out as a midfielder, is a Bayern Munich and (West) Germany legend. He won every major title on offer for club and country. The 76-year-old won the Euros and two FIFA World Cups with Germany. With Bayern Munich, he won four Bundesliga and three European Cups (now known as the Champions League).
He also enjoyed a successful managerial career, leading West Germany to the 1990 FIFA World Cup title. Beckenbauer also won league titles in two different countries, and the UEFA Cup as well.
The German is one of a handful of defenders to have won the Ballon d'Or award, which is mostly won by attackers.
#4 Johan Cryuff - 12 (Three-time Ballon d'Or winner)
Johan Cryuff is one of the legendary names in the history of the sport. A proponent of Rinus Michels's Total Football Philosophy, Cryuff enjoyed roaring success on both sides of the touchline.
Cryuff later, with his stellar exploits, put Ajax on the European map, winning eight Eredivisie and three European Cup titles. He replicated that success with Barcelona, ending the club's near-decade-long wait for a league title.
A legend at both clubs, Cryuff won three Ballon d'Or awards, the first of only five players in history to have done so. In later years, he was critical of the choice of Ballon d'Or winners, deriding it as a 'bunch of journalists and people voting for their friends'.
As manager, Cryuff assembled a 'dream team' at Barcelona in the early 1990s that swept four consecutive league titles and the European Cup (now known as the Champions League).
#3 Paolo Maldini - 13
Paolo Maldini is one of the best players never to have won the Ballon d'Or award. He received a whopping 13 nominations, but made the podium only twice (1994 and 2003). That's the most nominations by any player in history without winning the coveted award.
Nevertheless, Maldini is arguably one of the finest defenders to have graced the game. During a storied club career spanning two and a half decades, Maldini played for only one team - AC Milan - despite tempting offers from elsewhere.
The 53-year-old won eight league and five European Cup titles (including two in the Champions League era). Maldini was recently voted the best left-back of all time by a jury comprising 140 journalists.
Now a technical director at AC Milan, Maldini also had a stellar career with Italy, reaching the 1994 FIFA World Cup and 2000 European Championship finals. Maldini retired from the international game when the Azzurri won their fourth and most recent World Cup in 2006.
#2 Lionel Messi - 15 (Six-time Ballon d'Or winner)
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players to have graced the beautiful game.
During a hugely successful career for club and country, Messi has scored goals and won titles (both individual and team) galore. The eight-time Pichichi winner is the only player in history to win six Ballon d'Or awards.
Messi first won the coveted award in 2009, and completed an unprecedented four-peat three years later. Ten years after winning his first award, the Argentinian became the first six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
After leading from the front in Argentina's Copa America 2021 triumph, Messi is one of the frontrunners for this year's award.
He moved to PSG this summer, where he has endured a quiet campaign thus far. But Messi might have already done enough to land the award for an unprecedented seventh time.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo - 17 (Five-time Ballon d'Or winner)
Cristiano Ronaldo, like Messi, is arguably one of the best players in the game's history.
The 36-year-old has had blistering exploits for club and country over the years. Ronaldo is the only player to win five Champions League titles; he also has as many Ballon d'Or awards.
Now at Manchester United, the 2020-21 Copacannonieri winner has hit the ground running on his return to his old stomping ground. He has scored seven times across competitions. Earlier this summer, Ronaldo created history at the European Championship, becoming the competition's all-time record scorer. He scored five goals and bagged an assist to win the Golden Boot award.
A few weeks ago, Ronaldo received a record-extending 17th Ballon d'Or nomination. Ronaldo has made the podium 12 times, just like Messi.
However, his lack of major silverware this year means Ronaldo is unlikely to win his sixth Ballon d'Or award this year.
Nevertheless, with Ronaldo showing little signs of slowing down anytime soon, he will likely add to his Ballon d'Or tally before calling time on his career.
