5 players who could have won the Ballon d'Or if they lived up to their potential
The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual prize in football. The award is presented by French news magazine France Football to the best performing footballer in a calendar year. Only the very best in the business have been able to lay their hands on the Ballon d'Or trophy.
Every year we see plenty of emerging talents in the world of football. Many of them are dubbed the 'new Cristiano Ronaldo' or the 'new Lionel Messi'. But it's not often that players live up to that hype. To be fair to them, it's not easy to live up to that comparison.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have exercised a duopoly over the Ballon d'Or
12 out of the last 13 Ballon d'Or awards have been won by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards while Ronaldo has won five. Their dominance has deprived a lot of world-class players of the opportunity to wrap their hands around the prestigious trophy.
But there have also been players who were expected to beat the dominant duo to the prize. However, despite being incredibly talented, some of them failed to truly maximize their potential.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five players who were tipped to win the Ballon d'Or but fell short.
#5 Paulo Dybala (Argentina/Juventus)
At his best, Paulo Dybala was the closest thing we had to Lionel Messi. Hailing from Argentina, Dybala is a fleet-footed, creative attacking midfielder blessed with incredible technical ability. He signed for Juventus after an impressive stint with Palermo in 2015.
Dybala has won five successive Serie A titles at Juventus. He was also a standout performer in all of those seasons. But there is a feeling that he failed to elevate his game after a point. Unfortunately for Dybala, it was when he was hitting his peak that the Bianconeri signed Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Argentina international was subsequently deployed in a deeper role in the 2018-19 season. He had scored 26 goals and provided seven assists in 46 appearances across all competitions in the 2017-18 season for the Bianconeri. Dybala managed just 10 goals and two assists in 42 appearances in 2018-19.
A subsequent contract standoff with the club worsened the situation for Dybala. All of a sudden there was a lot of focus on what was happening away from the pitch. His form definitely suffered and he even fell down the pecking order in the 2020-21 season under Andrea Pirlo.
Following Ronaldo's departure last summer, Dybala has once again become a more important player for Juventus. He has scored nine goals and provided four assists in 19 appearances across all competitions for the Old Lady this term.
But Dybala looked destined for greater heights and was once tipped to be a future Ballon d'Or winner. He has failed to deliver on that promise.
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#4 Paul Pogba (France/Manchester United)
Paul Pogba is one of the most naturally gifted footballers on the planet. There are things he does on the football pitch that's inconceivable to many players. The Frenchman's exquisite technique and passing range were crucial to France's 2018 FIFA World Cup triumph.
However, Pogba has been far too inconsistent to truly hit the heights he was expected to. He had a stellar stint at Juventus and excelled in midfield for them, playing alongside veteran midfielders like Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo.
He was expected to have become mature enough to be the main man at Manchester United when he returned to the club in 2016. However, Pogba has been frugal when it comes to turning in quality performances.
While his passing range and vision are all exemplary, Pogba lacks the kind of discipline we've come to associate with world-class central midfielders. The Frenchman is also not the most hardworking player on the pitch and he is rather poor at making recoveries.
His sinusoidal graph at Manchester United speaks volumes about why Pogba could not even become a proper Ballon d'Or contender despite his abilities.
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