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Premier League greats Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher believe that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is the greatest player to never win the Ballon d'Or. Meanwhile, Gary Neville and Roy Keane have opted for Wayne Rooney as their most notable Ballon d'Or snub.
The 2025 Ballon d'Or saw Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) Ousmane Dembele scoop home the prestigious award in the 69th edition. The Frenchman won the trophy ahead of Barcelona's Lamine Yamal and club teammate Vitinha, who placed second and third, respectively.
In a clip posted on X, crew members of The Overlap Podcast were asked to name the greatest player who never won the Ballon d'Or. Wright and Carragher went for Gunners' legend Henry, while Neville and Keane opted for their former Manchester United teammate, Rooney.
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Former France international, Henry, notably finished as runner-up behind Paul Neved in the 2023 Ballon d'Or. His other podium finish came in 2006, where he ranked third after Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon.
Rooney, meanwhile, never attained a podium finish, with his highest ranking being fifth in the 2011 edition. However, the former United forward is the Englishman with the second-most Ballon d'Or nominations (nine), only behind David Beckham, as per GiveMeSport.
Both Henry and Rooney are regarded as two of the greatest forwards of their generation. The former recorded 411 goals and 204 assists in 917 senior career appearances, while the latter has 366 goals and 188 assists in 884 matches.
Arsenal legend questions Ballon d'Or voting process
Arsenal legend Ian Wright has cast doubts about the transparency of the Ballon d'Or voting process. He questioned Aitana Bonmati's Ballon d'Or win over Mariona Caldentey and Alexia Russo in the women's category.
Speaking on The Overlap Podcast YouTube channel, Wright said:
“Couldn’t believe it. I don’t think anyone is disputing how great Bonmati is but the season [Mariona] Caldentey had, not just because she’s at Arsenal, even Alessia Russo winning the Champions League and the Euros. You know what was so embarrassing about it? I actually felt for Bonmati, she had the trophy and they were showing videos of her losing the Champions League, losing the Euros. And you’ve got players like Caldentey, she won everything. She was Arsenal and WSL player of the year, the Champions League, all the way to the last stages of the Euros."
He also referenced Thierry Henry's 2003 snub while buttressing his point, saying:
"Without the shadow of a doubt [the Ballon d’Or is a bit of an image-based award]. There is a lot going on upstairs where you feel, ‘well that’s not right’. How can you honestly look at Bonmati this season? She hasn’t even had as good a season as Putellas. The same has happened with the men’s award down the years. The same happened with Thierry [Henry], he had 55 goal involvements and he was magnificent but Nedved won it [that year]. Nedved himself said, ‘this should be Thierry Henry’s'."
"The voting or whatever, it’s wrong. The right person is not getting the trophy. Simple as that," he concluded.
Arsenal are yet to produce a Ballon d'Or winner, but have had players like Henry and Dennis Bergkamp finish in the top four.
