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The Ballon d'Or is arguably men's football's most prestigious award, and as expected, it has had its fair share of heated debates and controversial wins. Apart from a few notable exceptions, the award has shown a bias towards favouring attacking players over defenders.
Without a doubt, there have been those deserving of the award during their careers but were simply unlucky.
This article takes a look at three such players who won multiple trophies in a single year, put up highly consistent performances season after season, but surprisingly didn't do enough to receive the votes needed to win the Ballon d'Or.
Honourable mention: Gianluigi Buffon
The 41-year-old shot-stopper has effectively maintained his status as one of the best goalkeepers in the world today. At some point, when Gianluigi Buffon was younger, he was debatably the best goalkeeper in the world, even the best goalie of all time - perhaps only behind the legendary Lev Yashin.
While age has ensured he currently spends more time on the bench as second-choice goalie for Juventus, there was a point when this world-class goalkeeper was almost unbeatable.
The year was 2006, and Buffon was in his prime. He won the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award, entered the UEFA Team of the Year, and was named World's Best Goalkeeper by IFFHS. His international form was excellent as well, as he guided Italy to win the World Cup after producing forty saves and conceding only two goals throughout the campaign.
Sadly for Gigi, his international teammate Fabio Cannavaro was also in top form, and for the first time, the prestigious individual award was won by a defender. Many football pundits and fans believe Buffon should have won it, but the star goalkeeper had to make do with second place after such a perfect season.
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#3 Arjen Robben
The Flying Dutchman is one of the most highly respected wing-forwards in the game. Widely known for his speed, agility, finishing, vision, teamwork, and partnership with Franck Ribery, there is little else Arjen Robben could have done to win the Ballon d'Or, except to have peaked before the total domination of world football by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
2013 could have been Robben's year, but he didn't even make it onto the shortlist, thanks to Messi, Ronaldo, and teammate Ribery filling up the three spots. 2014 was just as controversial, with Robben once again missing out on the shortlist after winning the Bundesliga and the German Cup, as well as picking up third place at the World Cup with the Netherlands..
However, in 2013, Robben won everything he could possibly win with Bayern Munich. He picked up the Champions League trophy, won the German Cup and the Bundesliga, and took home the UEFA Super Cup as well.
Sadly, four trophies were not enough to steer the votes in his favour, and the award eventually went to Cristiano Ronaldo, who won it again in 2014.
#2 Franck Ribery
Currently, the 36-year-old plies his trade with Italian side Fiorentina, but before he left Germany, Franck Ribery managed to win 24 trophies at Bayern Munich - a club record. Perhaps more discussed and enderaring to footballing fans was Ribery's attacking partnership with fellow winger Arjen Robben. Robbery was everything most managers dreamed they could work with, and the last decade at Munich saw the duo produce highly entertaining football.
Robben may have missed out entirely on the shortlist of the 2013 nominations for the Ballon d'Or, but Ribery had a much higher chance of winning it. As we know, the award went to Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi came second place, while Ribery had to make do with third.
The decision did not sit well with the Frenchman at the time, and he has remained outspoken about his 'disgust' ever since. Calling it a terrible injustice, Ribery explained that he had nothing to envy Ronaldo or Messi for, as he was a driving force in Bayern's quadruple successes that year.
Famously, he told L'Equipe earlier this year:
I saw myself as the Ballon d'Or. It's the truth. Even today, I think I deserved it. I still haven't digested it. I did everything to have it. I ticked all the boxes. I won all I could win with Bayern. I couldn't do better! I did a very, very, very big personal year.
Perhaps it was Ronaldo's 66 goals in 56 games for Real Madrid and Portugal that year, but whatever it was, Ribery is yet to win the Ballon d'Or, and his chances of doing are now very dim.
#1 Wesley Sneijder
What happened to Franck Ribery in 2013 was a mere shadow of the events that befell Wesley Sneijder in 2010. The Dutchman was named UEFA Midfielder of the Season that year, but the Ballon d'Or voters saw things quite differently.
Sneijder was perhaps the most consistent football player throughout 2010. He was highly exceptional for Inter Milan and successfully led them to win the Champions League. He carried the Netherlands on his head right into the final of the World Cup where they lost to Spain. Notably, during the World Cup tournament, he won the Man of the Match award four times, and was the highest joint top scorer.
The Dutchman gave dashing, world-class performances throughout the year, and so it came as a shock when Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi Hernandez emerged as the finalists for the Ballon d'Or. Before many pundits and fans could get over the shock of excluding Wesley Sneijder from the podium, Messi was announced the winner of the prestigious award.
Notably, both Iniesta and Xavi were part of the Spain squad that beat the Netherlands in the finals of the World Cup that year. That Messi, whose national team and club did not reach any major tournament finals, won the award was beyond comprehension for many fans across the world.
It is still widely believed that the 2010 Ballon d'Or was snatched from right under Wesley Sneijder's nose, and it is also the sole reason that the current 35-year-old - who now plays in Qatar - will never be a recipient of the elusive award.
