Getty/GOALFootball's most prestigious individual award should go to the world's best player in any given year, but that is not always the case…
Many greats of the game have picked up the Ballon d'Or since it's inception back in 1956, from Real Madrid and Manchester United icons Alfredo Di Stefano and Sir Bobby Charlton, to Dutch duo Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.
Up until a format change in 2022, the annual prize was awarded to the best player over a 12-month period from January to December – which ensured that performances at major international tournaments were always taken into account.
The eventual recipient of the award is decided by a jury of journalists from FIFA's 100 top-ranked member nations, who pick and rank their top five from the final 30-man shortlist assembled by France Football. More often than not, this process has led to the most worthy winner being crowned – but there have also been a few very controversial snubs down the years.
Lionel Messi won his record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or at the 2023 ceremony, after inspiring Argentina to glory at the first ever mid-season World Cup in Qatar – with the voting criteria now only taking into account the achievements of the previous campaign instead of a calendar year.
That will likely be the last Golden Ball bestowed upon the Barcelona legend, who is now plying his trade in MLS with Inter Miami. Messi has dominated the Ballon d'Or voting alongside eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo for the best part of 15 years, but neither man was included in the final shortlist for the 2024 award, and a changing of the guard is now inevitable.
In truth, Messi can count himself lucky he managed to make it to eight. If it came down to ability alone Messi would have deserved the award every year since 2008, but that is not the case, and there has been a couple of occasions when other superstars were unfairly overlooked. France Football were guilty of some other questionable calls both before and after the Argentine's emergence, with GOAL on hand to run down the seven biggest robberies in the history of the Ballon d'Or:
