At the fifth time of asking, Cristiano Ronaldo won his duel with Lionel Messi when he was named the winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for 2013 last night.
Although clearly emotional, it was not the first time that the Real Madrid attacker had received the accolade, having done so back in 2008 after he had spearheaded Manchester United's charge to a Premier League and Champions League double.
However, there are some footballers who have impressed on their way to winning the sport's biggest honours, yet they have not been able to get their hands on the coveted gold trophy. Below, Sports Mole has picked out five of the best players that the Ballon d'Or has passed by.
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The 36-year-old will be the first to admit that he was not one of the most naturally gifted players who have ever graced the game, but he is still regarded to be one of the best footballers who have ever pulled on Real Madrid's famous white shirt. During his 741 outings for Los Blancos, the centre-forward won six La Liga titles and the Champions League on three occasions. Many of his 323 goals were important ones, including a goal in the 2000 and 2002 European Cup finals. Even so, none of that was enough for him to claim the top gong. In terms of international football, his 102 caps came too late, as La Roja started to dominate as he was retiring. He came closest in 2001, finishing runner-up to Liverpool's Michael Owen.
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Between 1999 and 2007, Henry scored 226 goals for Arsenal, for whom he won two Premier League titles and three FA Cups. What's more, the Frenchman was the focal point as the Gunners went the entire 2003-04 campaign unbeaten - a season in which he scored 39 goals. Later there would be domestic and European success with Barcelona, but the Ballon d'Or remained elusive for the current New York Red Bulls striker. Like Raul, Henry finished second once, when he was pipped by Juventus and Czech Republic midfielder Pavel Nedved in 2003.
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Only three defenders have won the award, yet Maldini is not one of them. This is a one-club man who was a key figure in seven Serie A title successes and five European Cup and Champions League wins with AC Milan. It appears that what ultimately cost him was a lack of trophies with the Italian national team. Take the other defensive victors, they all won an international tournament around the time of their triumphs. Franz Beckenbauer won the World Cup with West Germany in 1974, Matthias Sammer was part of the German side that claimed the European Championship title in 1996 and Fabio Cannavaro captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup. In 1994, when the Azzurri lost that year's World Cup on penalties to Brazil, Maldini was third in the running behind Hristo Stoichkov and Roberto Baggio.
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The Hungarian scored 242 goals in 262 appearances for Real Madrid. During his time with the Spanish club, he won five league titles and three European Cups, scoring four goals during the 1960 final against German side Eintracht Frankfurt. The inside-left also fired in 84 goals in 85 outings for Hungary - what more did he have to do to win the Ballon d'Or? The truth is that the late Puskas was the victim of the quality of his teammates at the Bernabeu. Alfredo Di Stefano (1957, 1959) and Raymond Kopa (1958) both won it, whereas Puskas had to settle for second place in 1960. Had the award been implemented in the early 1950s, when Puskas helped his nation to Olympic gold and the World Cup final, his contribution would surely have been recognised.
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At the age of 33, it's probably fair to conclude that the Barcelona midfielder's chances of winning the award are over. Unfortunately for Xavi, it's been a case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. He's been in the top three thrice, but like Puskas, the ability of his Barcelona teammates - namely Lionel Messi - severely hampered his chances. Such is his quality, even Messi has previously acknowledged that he would not have won the Ballon d'Or four times without Xavi's presence. He has been at the hub of Barca and Spain's recent successes, but perhaps the fact that he doesn't make headlines in the same way as Messi has been the deciding factor.
Written by
Liam Apicella
Liam Apicella
