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The Ballon d'Or is, without doubt, the greatest individual award in football. The Ballon d'Or winners' list is a compilation of names of some of the best individuals to have ever played the beautiful game.
Some of the most recognizable names in the history of football have won the Ballon d'Or. The award has changed many hands but in recent times, we've seen Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominate the race for the prestigious prize.
Between the two of them, they have won 11 Ballons d'Or. Lionel Messi is currently leading the race with six after winning the last edition of the award in 2019. While so many legends have been honoured with the Ballon d'Or, there are also players who missed out on it.
Several greats of the game have not even made the Ballon d'Or top three
Some of the greatest players of all time like Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Thierry Henry, to name a few, have never won the award. But they've all at least made it into the top three.
Here, we take a look at five of the greatest players to have never even made the Ballon d'Or podium.
#5 Thomas Muller
Thomas Muller is one of the underappreciated legends of the game. Yes, he has definitely been lauded as a top footballer but his individual trophy collection is not a fair reflection of just how good a player he is.
Thomas Muller has won the lot. He even won the World Cup with Germany in 2014. A year prior, he had won the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich and played a starring role in both historic triumphs.
A versatile and reliable player, Muller led from the front in Bayern Munich's famous continental treble in the 2012-13 season. He scored 23 goals that season, 13 of which came in the Bundesliga. He also had an impressive haul of eight goals in the UEFA Champions League.
He was one of their standout performers in the 2-1 win over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final. Muller also scored a penalty in the 3-2 win over VfB Stuttgart in the 2013 DFB Pokal final. Guess where Muller finished in the Ballon d'Or race that year? 17th.
The closest he'd come to the podium was a year later when he'd won the FIFA World Cup with Germany. He won the Silver Boot and the Silver Ball at the World Cup and had won a domestic double with Bayern Munich that season too. However, he finished fifth in the Ballon d'Or race.
#4 Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo is a modern day midfield magician. The deep-lying playmaker seemed to amble his way into the hallway of greatness while others scampered and bled for the same. Pirlo made everything look simple and it was a joy just watching him go about his business.
Pirlo enjoyed an illustrious career, the highlights of which were winning the FIFA World Cup with Italy in 2006 and winning the Champions League with AC Milan a year later. Pirlo was one of the chief architects behind Italy's World Cup triumph, turning in three man-of-the-match performances in the tournament.
He played a deeper role and neither his numbers nor his presence were as flashy as the ones the panels usually choose to go with. As a result, Pirlo never even made it to the Ballon d'Or podium. The closest he came was in 2007 when he finished fifth in the race while Kaka went home with the Ballon d'Or.
#3 Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney shook the world with his exploits at Euro 2004. He was bossing games against some of the best in the business and there was a sense of aggression about him that was almost intimidating. Rooney enjoyed a spectacular career at Manchester United but his selflessness has definitely cost him on the awards front.
Rooney has played everywhere across the frontline and midfield in order to accommodate the other superstars that Manchester United would lure at the time. But he was so well-rounded as a footballer that he thrived in every position he played in.
There was a period of time during which the England national team would severely underperform at major tournaments despite all the talent at their disposal. Wayne Rooney was a prime example of this and it perhaps cost him several times in the race for the Ballon d'Or.
Rooney won the Premier League and the Champions League double in the 2007-08 season. He was also Manchester United's leading goalscorer with 34 goals across all competitions in the 2009-10 and 2011-12 seasons. They made it to the finals of the Champions League both times but failed to win it. He was chosen as the PFA Player of the Year in 2010.
But despite his contributions, Rooney never made the Ballon d'Or top three. The closest he came was finishing fifth in the 2011 Ballon d'Or race.
#2 Johan Neeskens
One of the greatest Dutch midfielders of all time, Johan Neeskens was one of the toughest men in Cruyff's supporting cast during their best years in world football. A steely campaigner, Neeskens was one of the first to specialize in a box-to-box role.
He was a tireless worker and was notably hailed as being 'worth two men in midfield' by his teammate Sjaak Swart. Cruyff won the Ballon d'Or three times and he owes a lot of credit to his supporting cast that includes Neeskens. Together they made it to the finals of the World Cup in 1974 and 1978.
Neeskens is also widely acknowledged to have been the best player at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. He won the World Cup Silver Boot and was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.
But he finished fifth in that year's race for the Ballon d'Or and that's the closest he ever came to the podium.
#1 Luis Suarez
Although he is a divisive figure, it's difficult to dismiss Luis Suarez's credentials as one of the best footballers of the 21st century. The Uruguayan marksman achieved the almost unimaginable feat of outscoring Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi when they were at the peak of their powers. He did it twice.
He also won the lot with Barcelona. After making a name for himself at Ajax, Suarez caught everyone's attention by virtue of his incredible performances in the Premier League for Liverpool. He would then cop a dream move to Barcelona where he formed part of arguably the greatest attacking trio in modern day football, the MSN.
In the 2015-16 campaign, the Uruguayan was unstoppable. He scored 53 goals in 58 matches across all competitions. However, the closest that Suarez came to the top three in the race for the Ballon d'Or was in 2015 when he finished fifth.
