5 players you didn't know won the Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or is football's most prestigious individual accolade. 'Ballon d'Or' is a French word which means 'Golden Ball', as the award is a football made of gold presented to the best player in the world.
It started in 1956, and was originally awarded to only European footballers. However, almost four decades later, every player in European football regardless of origin became eligible for it. In 2007, any player in world football became eligible to win the Ballon d'Or award.
Since its inception, 44 different players have won the award, with some of them doing so on multiple occasions. Ten players have won the Ballon d'Or award more than once, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo winning as many as 11 awards between them.
As the award is given to the best player in the world in a calendar year, many of the winners have been household names in football. There have, however, been some lesser-known recipients of the award, who have been largely forgotten over time.
On that note, here's a look at five such Ballon d'Or winners:
#5 Pavel Nedved
Pavel Nedved is currently the vice-chairman of Italian giants Juventus. During his playing days, the midfielder was widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Nedved is one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic.
He joined Juventus in 2001 after five highly successful seasons at Lazio, where he won seven trophies. Nedved was signed to replace French legend Zinedine Zidane, who joined Real Madrid. Nedved quickly settled into the side and helped Juventus to the Serie A title.
His second season brought further success, as he helped Juventus to consecutive league titles as well as a place in the Champions League final. A suspension forced Nedved to sit out the Champions League title match, which the Bianconeri lost on penalties to AC Milan.
Nedved's exploits with Juventus that season helped him win several individual accolades. He was voted Serie A Footballer of the Year and also the Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year. The Czech was named UEFA Club Best Midfielder of the Year before winning the Ballon d'Or award at the end of the year.
#4 Igor Belanov
Igor Belanov is not a name many in the football world remembers. However, he won the Ballon d'Or award in 1986, finishing above Gary Lineker and ending Michael Platini's three-year reign.
Belanov joined Dynamo Kyiv in 1985 and helped them win the Soviet League and Soviet Cup in his debut season. The following campaign, he helped his club to another league title as well as the UEFA Cup Winner's Cup, where he was the top scorer.
Coupled with his exploits at Dynamo Kyiv, Belanov went on to represent USSR at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Although USSR were eliminated in the Round of 16, the Dynamo Kyiv forward managed to win the Bronze Boot in the competition.
He was named the Ballon d'Or winner that year, beating Gary Lineker and Real Madrid's Emilio Butragueno to the award.