The respected British outlet FourFourTwo published a list of the most controversial decisions in the history of the prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
According to FourFourTwo, the top 10 most unfair Ballon d’Or awards are:
1. In 2021, the Ballon d’Or should have gone to Robert Lewandowski instead of Lionel Messi. Lewandowski also deserved it in 2020, when the award was canceled due to the pandemic.
2. Thierry Henry was more deserving of the Ballon d’Or than Pavel Nedved in 2003, and more than Andriy Shevchenko in 2004.
3. Wesley Sneijder should have won in 2010 instead of Lionel Messi.
4. The authors of the list think that Erling Haaland should have received the Ballon d’Or in 2023 instead of Lionel Messi.
5. Franck Ribery deserved the award in 2013, not Cristiano Ronaldo.
6. Virgil van Dijk was more deserving in 2019 than Lionel Messi.
7. In 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, or Antoine Griezmann should have beaten Luka Modric for the award.
8. Oliver Kahn or Raul Gonzalez deserved it more in 2001 than Michael Owen.
9. Ferenc Puskas should have been honored in 1960 instead of Luis Suárez.
10. Gianluigi Buffon was more deserving in 2006 than Fabio Cannavaro.
Earlier, the 2025 Ballon d’Or was awarded to winger Ousmane Dembele of PSG.
