Ballon d'Or: Which players should have won the award, but missed out

In the 1950s, French journalist Gabriel Hanot decided to come up with a definitive solution to that latter debate, when he created the Ballon d'Or award, crowning the outstanding player for each calendar year (and now each individual season).

However, the outcome of that vote, which is taken by journalists from around the world, often brings up some minor injustices, with some of the finest players of all time being overlooked.

Here, Sports Mole looks at five players who should have won the Ballon d'Or, but did not.

1956 - Alfredo Di Stefano

The opening entry on this list dates back to the very first awarding of the prize in 1956, when Blackpool's Stanley Matthews won the award narrowly ahead of Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano - winning 47 votes to 44.

Despite winning no honours, and scoring just three goals in 37 games during the 1955-56 season, Matthews was a shock winner over Di Stefano, who was a European Cup winner that year, scoring 29 goals in all competitions, and was halfway on his way to racking up another 43 in 43 games the following season.

Hanot, the Ballon d'Or creator, was far from pleased, claiming Matthews had "something of Charlie Chaplin about him", while referring to Di Stefano as a "great knight who brings invincibility".

However harsh his words were, it was a strange choice, especially considering Bert Trautmann won the FWA Footballer of the Year in England over him, with many claiming his longevity in the game is the sole reason why he won it, but Di Stefano did take the award the following year in a landslide, by 72 votes to 19, after collecting another European Cup with Real Madrid.

1972 - Gerd Muller

Calling into question any award won by Franz Beckenbauer is risky territory given how marvellous a player 'Der Kaiser' was throughout his career, but his 1972 Ballon d'Or was one that could have easily gone to a teammate.

'Der Bomber' Gerd Muller was equally, if not more, influential in Bayern Munich and Germany's dominance during 1972, as the striker scored 50 goals in the 1971-72 season, helping the Bavarians to the Bundesliga title.

Muller's impressive year did not end there though, as he would go on to win the Golden Boot at Euro 72, scoring twice in the final as Germany took home the crown in neighbouring Belgium.

Beckenbauer was of course a huge presence for both club and country, but considering Muller was also halfway to plundering 67 goals in the 1972-73 season when the vote took place, Bayern's all-time record goalscorer would have felt hard done by to miss out.

1974 - Franz Beckenbauer

If Beckenbauer was perhaps a little fortunate to win the award in 1972, he was certainly unfortunate not to do so again in 1974, when Dutch icon Johan Cruyff scooped up the accolade instead.

Captaining Bayern Munich to Bundesliga and European Cup success, before leading his country to the World Cup trophy in 1974, making Germany reigning World and European champions means it is scarcely believable that Beckenbauer was not the victor on the individual front.

Cruyff was instrumental in the revolutionary Netherlands side that reached the World Cup final in 1974, winning the Golden Ball, and helping Barcelona to the La Liga title, so it is not a scandalous decision by any means, but being a more flashy, attacking player may have swayed minds in his favour.

Beckenbauer missed out by just 11 votes, but if asked, it is almost certain he would have finished 1974 as a very content man, after claiming the holy trinity of trophies in the space of a few months.

2010 - Wesley Sneijder

There is no disputing that by 2010, Lionel Messi was the best player in the world, but solely looking through the lens of that specific year, he was perhaps very slightly fortunate to win a second straight Ballon d'Or.

Wesley Sneijder was a pivotal factor in Inter Milan's unlikely and historic treble under Jose Mourinho, knocking out Messi's Barca in the semi-finals, before setting up Diego Milito's first goal in the final against Bayern Munich.

The Dutchman would then go on to have a superb World Cup in South Africa, scoring twice in the quarter-final against Brazil, and in the semi-final versus Uruguay, finishing as joint-top scorer as Holland reached the final.

Andres Iniesta was the other unfortunate man to miss out this year, as he won La Liga alongside Messi, and scored the winning goal in the final that clinched Spain their first World Cup crown, and finished second in the vote, ahead of Sneijder, who was unlucky to come fourth.

2020 - Robert Lewandowski

The final entry in this list goes to the very unlucky Robert Lewandowski, who had a global pandemic deny him the opportunity of claiming an elusive Ballon d'Or in 2020.

Despite football still taking place for much of 2020, apart from the three-month shutdown from March to late-May, the baffling decision was made to cancel the award that year, robbing the Polish great from claiming an almost certain win.

Lewandowski won the treble with Bayern, scoring an astonishing 55 goals in 47 games across all competitions, ending as the Bundesliga (34 goals) and Champions League (15 goals) top scorer.

Unfortunately for Lewandowski, playing for a relatively weak nation, and Bayern, or current club Barca, not reaching the same heights since means he has been unable to win the award, despite coming second a year later, missing out due to Messi's Copa America success with Argentina.