The Greatest Ballon d’Or Robberies

The Ballon d’Or is the biggest and most prestigious individual prize that football has to offer to players. The format, structure, name and relevant dates have been tweaked a number of times over the years but, ultimately, this is the award that the greatest players on the planet aspire to and the one that means they can legitimately claim to be the best of the best.

It now covers players from any league in the world, of any nationality, so it is a truly global competition, having been founded back in 1956 to crown only the best European player. However, like many awards, from the Oscars, to Sports Personality of the Year, to the Premier League Player of the Season, it is subjective.

The Golden Boot is given to the player who scores the most goals in a given competition and there is no arguing with the hard, simple stats. However, many awards are granted based on personal opinion, be that of the voting public, a group of experts, or, in the case of the Ballon d’Or, journalists from the nations ranked in the top 100 by FIFA.

Subjective vs Objective Awards

Any subjective award can be controversial in a way that an objective one, such as the Golden Boot, cannot. If Erling Haaland scores 40 goals and Mo Salah 27, it is not possible to declare Salah the league’s top scorer, and thus award him the Golden Boot. However, if Salah’s goals help his side win the league and in addition he adds far more assists than Haaland, he could easily be declared the Player of the Season.

Some will agree; whilst others will feel that Haaland’s individual contributions and general brilliance were such that he should be the Player of the Season. Often, pundits, experts, fans and players may disagree but that in and of itself is not a major problem, because football is a game very much of opinions.

However, sometimes decisions about individual prizes, such as the Ballon d’Or, leave almost everyone scratching their heads. Disagreement is one thing but if the majority of football lovers feel the wrong winner has been declared then the decision becomes more controversial. Here we take a look at some of the most puzzling Ballon d’Or decisions over the years. Or, put another way, the greatest – or perhaps that should be worst – Ballon d’Or robberies.

Thierry Henry and Pavel Nedved in 2003

The exact criteria judges use have not always been clear, though this has been made more explicit in recent years. However, performances in the Champions League and major international tournaments have always been key, with the winner of the Ballon d’Or often landing at least one of these (the UCL itself, the Euros, or the World Cup, though performances at the Copa America and AFCON would also count highly).

In 2003, there was no World Cup or Euros, so the focus was a little more on the Champions League. Juventus made the final but lost on penalties after a dour 0-0 draw with Italian rivals Milan. However, their midfield lynchpin was Czech star Pavel Nedved and was crowned the Ballon d’Or king, despite missing the final through suspension.

Nedved was superb for several years at Juve between 2001 and 2009, managing 65 goals from 327 games, an excellent return from the heart of midfield. He also played almost 100 times for his nation, including a Man of the Match performance in the semi final of Euro 1996. It was his strong showings during a two-year unbeaten spell for the Czechs that helped him land the prize in 2003 though.

Nedved played exceptionally well in the 2003 judging period. Juve did the league and cup double, as well as going so close in Europe, he was named in the UEFA Team of the Year, as well as winning the Serie A Footballer of the Year honour. However, was he a better player than Thierry Henry in 2003?

The judges awarded Nedved 190 votes, with Henry second on 128 and Italian icon, Paulo Maldini (who many thought was more deserving of the award than the winner), third on 123. However, Henry netted 11 goals for France in 14 games in 2003, scoring and assisting more than 60 in total that calendar year. Many of those strikes and assists came in Arsenal’s “Invincibles” 2003/04 campaign, when they also won the FA Cup.

Henry was playing the best football of his career at this time and his grace and style would have made him a worthy winner. However, in terms of stats, his numbers were simply so much better than Nedved’s. The two were different players, of course, but many feel Henry was robbed, with the fact that Juve won more than Arsenal proving to be the key factor, rather than the actual performances of the two players.

Other Controversial Wins

The most recent Ballon d’Or that has attracted a bit of negative attention was in 2023, when Lionel Messi was crowned king for a record-extending eighth time. This award was based on performances between the 1st of August, 2022 and the 31st of July, 2023 and Messi won ahead of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri.

Messi managed just 21 goals in 41 games for PSG that term, the French side winning the league but failing yet again to make an impact on the Champions League. However, Messi essentially won the award for his role in helping Argentina to win the World Cup. He was excellent in Qatar but given how good Haaland was in helping Man City to a treble, one can’t help but feel this was almost a “lifetime achievement” award to the Argentine.

Luka Modric’s win in 2018 was also questioned, chiefly because Cristiano Ronaldo was so good for both Real Madrid and Juve in the relevant judging period. Ronaldo was hurt by his nation’s underachievement at the 2018 World Cup, with Croatia making the final. Even so, many felt that Ronaldo was by far the better player at the time.

Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez

Finally, we return to Messi, who landed his second (overall and consecutively) Ballon d’Or in 2010, ahead of Spanish legends, Andres Iniesta and Xavi. All three were instrumental to Barca’s success at that time but the Spanish duo were also helping their national side to glory and after glory too.

Many football experts believed that one of them should have won but they probably lost out for that reason: the pair could not be separated. If you wanted to vote for an obviously dazzling individual, your vote went to Messi. If you preferred a midfield maestro who made the team work and moved the ball brilliantly, deciding which of Spain and Barca’s aces to go for was tricky and that split the vote.