5 best players who never won the Ballon d'Or 

#3 Thierry Henry

There was simply no stopping Thierry Henry.

It's almost criminal that Thierry Henry never won the Ballon d'Or award. A striker for the ages, Henry still remains Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer. The Frenchman moved to Arsenal in 1999 and went on to become one of the best forwards the Premier League has ever seen.

Thierry Henry’s 2002/03 season in the Premier League:Most NpG - 21Most assists - 20Most dribbles - 367 (~10 per 90)Most shots - 153 pic.twitter.com/2jWNkZPQNu

— (not from 🇮🇹 but forza azzurri) (@FussballHussain) June 30, 2021

Henry scored an astonishing total of 226 goals in 370 matches across competitions for Arsenal, helping the Gunners win six trophies, including two Premier League titles. One of them was the 2003-04 Premier League title, which Arsenal won after going undefeated throughout the season.

Although he went on to play for Barcelona, Henry's best years were arguably at Arsenal. He came close to winning the Ballon d'Or twice during his stint at Arsenal. In 2003, he finished behind Pavel Nedved and in 2006, he finished behind Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.

Henry is also the all-time top goalscorer for France (51 goals), with whom he won the FIFA World Cup in 1998, the UEFA European Championship in 2000 and the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2003.

There is little doubt that Henry will forever be hailed as one of the best goal-scorers the Premier League has ever seen. However, a Ballon d'Or award would have certainly augmented that reputation further.

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#2 Andres Iniesta

Midfield maestro Andres Iniesta certainly deserved a Ballon d'Or award.

When one thinks of historic trebles, Barcelona and Andres Iniesta come to mind. A product of the club's famed youth academy, La Masia, Iniesta rose through the ranks to become one of the best players to have graced the game.

Widely considered one of the best midfielders ever, Iniesta spent 16 long seasons at Barcelona, winning a jaw-dropping 30 major trophies, including nine LaLiga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies. He was a significant part of the teams that won the trebles in 2009 and 2015.

Iniesta is also one of the most decorated Spanish players of all time, winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships (2008 and 2012) with Spain.

🎥 | Andrés Iniesta - 2010 World CupFlawless 🎩 pic.twitter.com/JPCviGXQaV

— 🪄🇳🇱 (@FDJChief) July 1, 2021

The Ballon d'Or award was essentially the only accolade Iniesta didn't win, despite coming close on two occasions.

In 2010, he finished behind his Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi. In 2012, he finished behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. In short, the only reason Iniesta never won the Ballon d'Or award because he happened to play at the same time as Messi and Ronaldo.

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#1 Xavi

Xavi made it to the top three in three consecutive years, but the Ballon d'Or award eluded him.

Yet another stellar graduate of Barcelona's La Masia academy, Xavi too, is one of the greatest players to have played for the club. He is also one of the best midfielders of all time. Until recently, he held the record for most appearances (767) for Barcelona.

In his 17 seasons with the Blaugrana, Xavi won 25 major trophies, including eight La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League trophies. Alongside Andres Iniesta, Xavi was another significant part of the Barcelona teams that won two historic trebles.

Xavi also made 133 appearances for Spain, winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup and two UEFA European Championships (2008 and 2012). Despite being at the peak of his powers and tasting success for club and country several times, Xavi failed to win the Ballon d'Or award.

Xavi thrice came third in the Ballon d'Or rankings, doing so in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

Xavi and Iniesta would readily agree that the greatest downside of playing in the Messi and Ronaldo era is that the Ballon d'Or award may remain elusive.