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The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in football. It is an award that goes to the best in the business over the course of a calendar year. But there have been times when the award has not exactly ended up in the most worthy pair of hands.
The Ballon d'Or is almost synonymous with the Cristiano Ronaldo-Lionel Messi rivalry. Both of these great players have shared a duopoly over the award. Between them, they have won 11 of the last 12 Ballons d'Or.
Until 1995, the Ballon d'Or was awarded to the best European footballer. It was then expanded to include players from all around the world. Despite the award being chosen via a voting system, there are a lot of players who have been robbed off the Ballon d'Or till date.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who were lucky to win the Ballon d'Or award.
#5 Luka Modric (Croatia/Real Madrid) - 2018
Luka Modric did have a stellar year for both club and country in 2018. He won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and led Croatia to the final of the World Cup in Russia. While the Golden Ball he won at the quadrennial tournament was well deserved, the Ballon d'Or should have gone to someone else.
Modric did not exactly have a sensational season for Real Madrid, scoring two goals and providing eight assists in 43 appearances. In fact, his contributions pale in comparison to that of Cristiano Ronaldo's.
The Portuguese superstar scored 44 goals, provided eight assists and was a standout performer for Los Blancos in their Champions League triumph.
Lionel Messi, who finished fifth in the Ballon d'Or race in 2018 had 45 goals and 18 assists to his name in 54 appearances for Barcelona. While the World Cup was a major decisive factor, Modric was lucky to have won the Ballon d'Or as he wasn't as consistent as his competition.
#4 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid) - 2013
While Cristiano Ronaldo did have a phenomenal season at an individual level in 2012-13, the Ballon d'Or could have so easily gone to a more worthy candidate. Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery was unstoppable that year and played a huge role as the Bavarians won the continental treble.
Ronaldo scored 55 goals and provided 13 assists for Real Madrid and usually that'd be more than enough to win the prestigious award. However, many critics believe that Franck Ribery's contribution to Bayern Munich that year was overlooked.
Playing as a winger, Ribery scored 11 goals and provided 23 assists in 43 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 season. They won the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, DFB Pokal and the DFB Supercup and Ribery was their guiding light.
#3 Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona) - 2010
There is a prevalent argument that Andres Iniesta and Xavi deserved the Ballon d'Or just as much as Messi did in 2010. The Spanish duo were instrumental in Spain's World Cup triumph but Wesley Sneijder was the man who was actually robbed off the Ballon d'Or.
Sneijder was a monster in midfield for Jose Mourinho's treble-winning Inter Milan side in the 2009-10 season. They defied all odds to win the Champions League that term.
Sneijder scored eight goals and 15 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions for Inter Milan that season. He basically played a direct hand in 23 goals from central midfield for the Nerazzurri.
Sneijder also scored five goals at the 2010 World Cup as the Netherlands reached the finals. He also won four man-of-the-match awards at the tournament. The Dutchman was also exceptional in the decisive stages of the Champions League, scoring three goals and providing six assists in the tournament.
However, Sneijder finished fourth in the Ballon d'Or race and did not even make the podium.
#2 Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic/Juventus) - 2003
Thierry Henry, arguably the best player to ever play in the Premier League, was robbed off the Ballon d'Or in 2003. The award went to Pavel Nedved instead and it's a decision that a lot of football fans just cannot agree with.
Juventus had a pretty decent season, winning the Scudetto and the Supercoppa Italiana. But Nedved did not exactly have a season worthy of fetching him the Ballon d'Or. The midfielder did score 14 goals and provide 17 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions for the Bianconeri.
He was also their best player that season. However, his achievements weren't at par with that of the Arsenal striker's.
Thierry Henry scored 32 goals and provided 28 assists across all competitions for Arsenal. He won the FA Cup with the Gunners as well. Even though his numbers were overwhelmingly better than Nedved's, he was still robbed off the Ballon d'Or.
#1 Michael Owen (England/Liverpool) - 2001
Michael Owen had an impressive 2000-01 season with Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, Football League Cup and the UEFA Cup. He scored 24 goals for the Merseysiders that season and was pivotal to their success.
However, Owen's achievements were no match for Real Madrid striker Raul's heroics. The Spaniard was at the peak of his powers during that time. He scored 33 goals and provided eight assists in 50 appearances across all competitions in the 2000-01 season.
Raul also won the La Liga title and reached the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos that season. He also won the Pichichi Trophy (for the topscorer in La Liga) and the Champions League Golden Boot as well that season.
He also won the Supercopa de Espana and it's quite surprising that Owen won the Ballon d'Or ahead of him. Raul was simply the superior striker and he can't be faulted for thinking he had done enough to win the most prestigious individual prize in football.
