10 great players who never won the Ballon d’Or

#8 Andrea Pirlo

Pirlo is one of the greatest players to have played for Italy

There can’t have been many cooler players to have played the game of football than Andrea Pirlo. He was the epitome of calm on the pitch, and he just made the game look so easy. If there is any evidence needed of how calm and collected he was, it comes in his autobiography, where he said: “I don’t feel pressure … I don’t give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday, July 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup.”

Pirlo made a name for himself with AC Milan, before moving to Juventus later on in his career. The success he had was undeniable. He won six Serie A titles, as well as winning the Champions League on two occasions. He also proved that he could perform on the biggest stage, and won Man of the Match in the 2006 World Cup final. He finished fifth in the Ballon d’Or in 2007, the closest he came to winning the award in his career.