The Ballon d’Or award does remain the most prestigious accolade in the football world, but it has been subject to controversies over time. The criterion for the Ballon d’Or awards has been dependent on voting
over the years and that has attracted plenty of criticism. The performance metrics for players have been purely subjective and some of the greatest players have missed out on the award.
Diego Maradona and Pele have been amongst the most notable omissions from the history of the award. In the past, only players from European countries were considered eligible and that led to many controversies in the past.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐀 𝐅𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂 𝐒𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄 🤯👑
⚽ 73 goals
🅰️ 8 assists
🥇 European Golden Shoe
🥉 Third place at the World Cup 🏴
🏆 Bundesliga
🏆 DFB Pokal
🏆 German Super CupOn average, he scored a goal every 𝟲𝟲 𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗧𝗘𝗦 last season. 🤯
He became only the second player this century to reach 70+ goals for club and country, following Lionel Messi, who scored 82 goals in 2011/12 😳
He became the 𝗙𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥 to reach 100 goals for Bayern, scoring his 100th goal in just his 98th game 🤯
He became England’s 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗥 at the World Cup and climbed to fifth on the list of 𝗔𝗟𝗟-𝗧𝗜𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗖𝗨𝗣 𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗥𝗦 (14 goals) 🏴
With those goals, he helped his club and country achieve incredible success.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or is for him, Sir Harold Kane. 🏆
— 433 (@433) October 27, 2026
However, the rules changed over time by allowing players of all nationalities from European clubs to be eligible for the awards. Robert Lewandowski had a phenomenal run during the COVID-19 time period and the fans were assured that he would win the award. But, the award ceremony was cancelled due to the pandemic, leaving the football world deeply dissatisfied with the decision.
Top 5 biggest Ballon d’Or controversies
Over the years, there have been many such incidents that sparked fierce debates and here are the top 5 biggest Ballon d’Or controversies over the years:
1. The Cancelled Award (2020) – Robert Lewandowski Denied
In the 2019-20 season, Robert Lewandowski enjoyed a prolific goal-scoring season with 55 goals in just 47 games. He even led the Bayern Munich side to a historic treble and he was the undisputed favourite to win the 2020 Ballon d’Or award.
However, the 2020 Ballon d’Or award ceremony was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. France Football decided to cancel the event under the assumption that the major competitions were disrupted due to the pandemic.
Even Lionel Messi publicly acknowledged during his own 2021 victory speech that Lewandowski deserved the 2020 golden ball .
2. The Extended Deadline (2013) – Cristiano Ronaldo over Franck Ribéry
In 2013, Franck Ribery was in the form of his life as he was the orchestrator behind Bayern Munich’s dominant continental treble. The Frenchman was comfortably in track of winning the award in the voting polls and the football world was excited for Ribery.
But, in an interesting turn of events, FIFA and France Football decided to extend the voting deadline by two weeks. The authorities cited low voting turnouts for the extension and that led to another coincidence.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for Portugal against Sweden and the fresh achievement diverted the votes in favour of Ronaldo. Later, Cristiano Ronaldo won the award even with no major silverware in his trophy cabinet.
3. The Treble Omission (2010) – Lionel Messi over Wesley Sneijder
The 2010 edition of the Ballon d’Or sparked fierce debates between international and club performance of players. Wesley Sneijder had a flawless year in his career as he led Inter Milan to a historic treble and also led Netherlands to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.
However, Lionel Messi’s individual records for FC Barcelona outweighed Sneijder’s silverware. The votings came in favour of Lionel Messi and Sneijder failed to even make the podium in the Ballon d’Or rankings.
4. The Bernabéu Boycott (2024) — Rodri over Vinícius Jr.
One of the most dramatic controversies in the Ballon d’Or unfolded in the 2024 edition of the award when Rodri was chosen over Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian played a key role in helping Real Madrid win the UEFA Champions League and La Liga.
However, Rodri was chosen as the winner of the award for his fine season with Manchester City and Euro 2024 triumph with Spain. The reasons cited by the organisers pertained to sportsmanship and that led to Real Madrid boycotting the event just hours before the commencement of the ceremony.
5. Invincibility Overlooked (2003) — Pavel Nedvěd over Thierry Henry
In 2003, Thierry Henry reached the peak of his powers with Arsenal as he put up a staggering record for goal contributions in the season The Frenchman registered 24 goals and 20 assists in the league and became the first player to reach the 20-mark in both goals and assists.
Despite his terrific performance, Pavel Nedved was chosen as the winner as he led Juventus to a Serie A title and the UEFA Champions League Final. Many of the fans and experts criticised the decision as club silverware was given priority over individual brilliance.
