5 high profile clubs who have never had a Ballon d'Or winner

The Ballon d'Or is awarded by French news magazine France Football to honor the best performing footballer of the year. It is the oldest and is widely considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in football.

In its early years, the award was given to the best European Footballer of the Year. However, in 1995, its ambit was widened to include all football players who were plying their trade in Europe. In 2007, the award started being applicable to footballers anywhere on the planet.

Some of the biggest clubs in Europe have had multiple Ballon d'Or winners

The most successful clubs have naturally featured some of the greatest individuals to have graced the game. Barcelona players have won it six times, Real Madrid players have won 11. Juventus and AC Milan players have won eight each while Bayern Munich plaers have won five and Manchester United players have won four.

But there are several European giants who have not had a single Ballon d'Or winner. Today, we take a look at five such high-profile clubs.

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#5 Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-Germain v Celtic FC - UEFA Champions League

Now that they've added Lionel Messi to their roster, things may change for Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentina international is among the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or this year but it's not a certainty just yet.

Paris Saint-Germain, despite all the high-profile stars they've housed in recent times, have never had a Ballon d'Or winner. George Weah was phenomenal for Paris Saint-Germain and he won the Ballon d'Or in 1995.

Unfortunately, he had left PSG in the summer of 1995 and so he wasn't a PSG player when he won the award.

#4 Manchester City

Watford FC v Manchester City - Premier League

Before the City Football group were providing capital for Manchester City, they were just Manchester United's noisy neighbours. They didn't have the financial muscle of the Red Devils and didn't have the kind of clout to attract the biggest stars of the game.

Before the David Silvas, Sergio Agueros, Yaya Toures and Kevin De Bruynes, Manchester City had not really been home to world-class talent. The fact that they have had no Ballon d'Or winners could change in the near future given how City have transformed into a juggernaut of sorts in recent times.

No Manchester City player has even made the Ballon d'Or podium in the history of the award. But there are world-class players in the current Manchester City squad and their record in the Ballon d'Or race could get better quite soon.

#3 Chelsea

FIFA World Player of the Year Gala

Chelsea are yet another club that rose to prominence in European football in the early 21st century. Not to say that they were a considerably lesser club before that but they started attracting some of the best talents in the world since the turn of the millennium.

The Blues, bankrolled by Roman Abramovich, have become one of the strongest sides in Europe. In fact, they are the reigning champions of Europe right now. However, Chelsea haven't had a Ballon d'Or winner in 116 years of their existence.

The closest they've come is with Frank Lampard. The English midfielder came second in the 2005 Ballon d'Or race. Lampard scored 19 goals and provided 21 assists in 58 matches across all competitions for Chelsea in the 2004-05 season.

He also won the Premier League title and the League Cup that year but lost out to Ronaldinho in the Ballon d'Or race.

#2 Atletico Madrid

Club Atletico de Madrid v Real Madrid CF - La Liga

Barcelona and Real Madrid have been the two most dominant forces in La Liga throughout the history of its existence. Atletico Madrid have tried their best to break their duopoly and have been successful intermittently.

Atletico Madrid are the third most successful La Liga side with 11 league titles. They've also finished second 10 times in La Liga. However, no Atletico Madrid player has ever won the Ballon d'Or in the history of the award.

Paulo Jorge dos Santos Futre came close in 1987 but lost out to Ruud Gullit and finished second. Antoine Griezmann has made the podium on two occasions. The Frenchman finished third in the Ballon d'Or race in 2016 and 2018.

#1 Arsenal

Thierry Henry of Arsenal shows off his Golden Boot and Premiership Player of the Year Award in May 2004

Arsenal are one of the most decorated clubs in Europe. They have 13 English league titles and 14 FA Cups and are one of the so-called Premier League giants. The Gunners were flying towards the end of the 20th century and in the first half of the first decade of the 21st.

They have had several world-class players on their payroll over the ages. But none of them have ever won the Ballon d'Or. Thierry Henry came real close twice though. The Frenchman is arguably the greatest striker in the history of the Premier League.

He finished second in the Ballon d'Or race in 2003. In fact, there is a strong argument that the 2003 Ballon d'Or winner Pavel Nedved didn't deserve to win it ahead of Henry who was phenomenal that year. Henry came close in 2006 as well but finished third in the Ballon d'Or race behind Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.