5 great footballers who never made the Ballon d'Or podium (top 3)
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.