They are some of the biggest names in football history. Neymar, Kylian Mbappé, Robert Lewandowski, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Andrés Iniesta, and David Beckham are icons who have dazzled fans and filled trophy cabinets.
Yet despite their legendary status and countless individual and team achievements, none of them has ever lifted the men’s Ballon d’Or, which is the most prestigious individual award in world football.
According to BBC Sports, the prestigious annual award has been handed out since 1956, when two French sportswriters wanted to recognise the world’s best talent.
At first, it only included European footballers, but now it is open to players from across the globe.
There are superstars throughout the winners’ list, with Zinedine Zidane and Brazil team-mates Ronaldinho and Ronaldo all scooping the top award.
A period of domination started in 2008 as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi battled it out for the number one spot.
In the decade that followed, no one else got a look-in as the two greatest players on the planet shared the top prize.
But which big names are conspicuously absent from the list of winners?
The big names missing
1. Dennis Bergkamp is justifiably regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, but as with so many others, the Ballon d’Or eluded him.
Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign the Dutchman from Inter Milan in 1995, and the £7.5m fee was money well spent.
A prolonged spell of success followed under Arsene Wenger, with Bergkamp winning three league titles, including the ‘Invincibles’ campaign in 2003-04, and three FA Cups.
Bergkamp had his fair share of iconic moments too – his 1997 hat-trick against Leicester will live long in the memory. He also scored one of the greatest World Cup goals at France ’98 for the Netherlands against Argentina.
But surprisingly, his only top-three finishes in the Ballon d’Or – third in 1992, second in 1993 – came before his time with the Gunners.
2. Thierry Henry
Another Arsenal great would be a contender for the best player in Premier League history.
After signing for the Gunners in 1999, Thierry Henry soon became one of Europe’s most feared strikers with a goalscoring record to back that up.
He became the first player this century to record at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a single season in one of Europe’s top–five leagues. Only Lionel Messi has since matched that in domestic league action.
Frenchman Henry remains Arsenal’s all-time top scorer with 228 goals in 377 matches, and plenty of award recognition came his way, but two top-three finishes were his peak in voting for the Ballon d’Or.
3. Neymar
Neymar also has some pretty impressive statistics on his CV, as Brazil’s record scorer has more than 400 senior career goals to his name.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, he’s also one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs – Santos, Barcelona, and Paris St-Germain in his case.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Romario, and legendary Spanish striker Isidro Langara are the others to achieve the feat, in case you’re wondering.
PSG spent a world record £200m to sign Neymar in 2017, but he could not convince the Ballon d’Or voters to put him on the throne as the planet’s best footballer.
4. Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is one of only five players to have scored 100 goals with three different clubs
We’ve already mentioned Robert Lewandowski, and it would be unfair to leave him off this list.
Had the 2020 Ballon d’Or not been cancelled because of the COVID pandemic, the Poland international might well have won it.
After all, he’d just had the season of his life – scoring 55 goals in all competitions for Bayern Munich.
“I was in the best moment of my career, I won everything with my club,” the striker, now at Barcelona, told the BBC.
His opportunity passed, and Lewandowski had to settle for second place behind Lionel Messi the following year.
5. Andres Iniesta
Had it not been for the ridiculous levels Messi and Ronaldo were producing week in, week out, then midfield maestro Andres Iniesta would probably have a Ballon d’Or trophy on his mantelpiece.
After coming through Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Iniesta settled into the club’s midfield and won 32 trophies in 16 glittering years, including nine La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.
On the international level, Iniesta was capped 131 times for Spain and scored 13 goals, including the winner against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final.
He finished his international career having won a World Cup and two European Championships.
Iniesta finished second in the Ballon d’Or vote in 2010 and was third two years later, when Messi won both.
6. David Beckham
Unlike Old Trafford legends Law, Charlton, and Best, Manchester United’s famous ‘Class of 92’ missed out on Ballon d’Or trophy recognition.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s celebrated young guns included David Beckham, who made his mark with one of the Premier League’s most famous goals in 1996-97.
Inside his own half with the ball at his feet, a fresh-faced Beckham looked up and saw Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line. The rest is history.
There were titles, too, of course – and lots of them – including United’s Treble in 1999.
Beckham was an instrumental part of that famous team and went on to captain England. He was a Ballon d’Or runner-up in 1999 for good reason and went on to star at Real Madrid, but never got his hands on the main award.
7. Ryan Giggs
Another ‘Class of 92’ graduate, Ryan Giggs, is the Premier League’s most decorated player and spent his entire career with Manchester United.
The facts speak for themselves. Giggs won 13 league titles, four FA Cups, four League Cups, and two Champions Leagues. Not bad going.
One of the greatest players of his generation also scored one of the greatest FA Cup goals. Who can forget that iconic moment against Arsenal?
8. Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard holds the record for the most goals by a midfielder in the Premier League and the most goals from outside the box.
Like Bergkamp, Henry, Beckham, Lewandowski, and Haaland, Frank Lampard has had to settle for second place at the Ballon d’Or. You can see why he came so close to winning it.
Widely regarded as one of the greatest English midfielders of all time, Lampard is Chelsea’s all-time leading scorer with 211 goals in all competitions.
Among his achievements are three Premier League titles, a Champions League title, and four FA Cups. Lampard still holds the record for the most goals by a midfielder in the Premier League with 177.
9. Steven Gerrard
Talking of great midfielders… we have to mention Steven Gerrard.
The 2005 Champions League final was arguably his finest moment.
Liverpool were 3-0 down to AC Milan at half-time and looked on course for a hiding. But Gerrard had other ideas.
His goal early in the second half marked the beginning of one of football’s greatest comebacks as Gerrard inspired his team to victory.
He is without doubt a Premier League legend, but the so-called ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ must rank as his greatest achievement.
