The Ballon d’Or is the biggest individual award in football – and these four legends probably deserved to claim it at some point.
In terms of individual honours, there’s no bigger prize in football than the Ballon d’Or. First awarded by France Football back in 1956, it was initially for European players only, but in 1995 it was expanded to include all players at European clubs, and the list of winners reads like a who’s who of football history.
Here are legends of the game who deserved to win the Ballon d’Or:
Andres Iniesta
Spanish legend Andres Iniesta – who recently departed Barcelona after spending his whole career at the Nou Camp – has won it all over the course of the last 15 years or so. He’s won the World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Copa del Reys with Barcelona, and he’s been awarded countless individual awards.
Steven Gerrard
It was a bit of an unwritten rule – pre-Ronaldo and Messi of course – that in even-numbered years, the Ballon d’Or would usually go to the outstanding player at that year’s big international tournament (the World Cup or European Championships) while in odd-numbered years, it’d usually go to an outstanding player from that year’s Champions League tournament.
Xavi
Barcelona’s midfield pass-master for well over a decade, Xavi is in the same boat as his famous partner in crime Andres Iniesta in that he’s one of the most decorated players in football history when it comes to both individual and team trophies, and yet he never quite managed to capture the Ballon d’Or.