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When it comes to winning the Ballon d’Or, forwards perhaps have an edge owing to their goal-scoring ability.
Scoring goals is easily quantifiable, so even the most consistent of players like Andres Iniesta and Virgil van Dijk have missed out on winning the elusive trophy.
In the last ten years, Luka Modric is the only midfielder to have won the Ballon d’Or as the duo of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have emerged on top.
The Messi-Ronaldo duopoly has stopped several top players from winning the Ballon d’Or. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the top five forwards who have never won the Ballon d’Or.
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#5 Raul
Real Madrid legend Raul was an absolute goal-machine at his peak, and showed he could do it in a different league as well after a spell with Schalke towards the end of his career.
The Spaniard scored 324 goals for Real Madrid and is their second highest goal-scorer for Los Blancos, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo.
Raul’s personal best campaign was during the 2000-01 season when he scored 25 goals in 36 La Liga games and won the Golden Boot award that year.
A spell at Schalke followed after 16 years at Real Madrid, and the Spaniard did pretty well at Gelsenkirchen as well. 40 goals in 98 appearances towards the twilight of his career at Schalke wasn’t a bad return at all.
Raul finished second in the race for the Ballon d’Or in 2001 when Michael Owen won it. Many believe the Spaniard was robbed of the Ballon d’Or that year.
#4 Robert Lewandowski
Roberto Lewandowski is perhaps the best striker in the world right now, and the Poland international was unfortunate not to win the Ballon d’Or last season.
Lewandowski powered Bayern Munich to the treble last season, but the Ballon d’Or award for the 2019-20 season was canceled because of COVID-19.
The Poland international carried over his form to the 2020-21 season as well, and broke Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season.
At 32, Lewandowski is showing no signs of slowing down, having won four successive Gold Boots in the German top flight. Lewandowski could still win the Ballon d’Or later this year, but he will have to beat competition from a certain Lionel Messi.
#3 Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry was denied the chance to win the Ballon d’Or twice at perhaps a time when he was the best forward in the world.
Henry’s pace, strength, footballing brain and skill made him a complete forward as he powered Arsenal to the 2003-04 Premier League title. The Gunners went that entire season unbeaten.
Henry scored an incredible 30 goals in 37 games in the 2003-04 Premier League campaign, and had continued to find the scoring touch the season later with 25 goals.
The forward was also a key player for the France national team, and won the European Championship and World Cup with Les Blues.
Henry finished second behind Pavel Nedved in the race for the Ballon d’Or in 2003 and third behind Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon in 2006.
#2 Neymar
The Brazilian is perhaps the biggest loser in the Messi-Ronaldo era of Ballon d’Or domination, having finished behind both players twice.
Neymar left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain to move out of Lionel Messi’s shadow, but it hasn’t been all rosy in Ligue 1 for the Brazilian.
One of the most skilful players in the world, Neymar is someone who can not only tear defenses apart with his ability but also score a lot of goals.
The 2015-16 La Liga campaign was Neymar’s personal best as he scored 24 goals in 34 games, but the season before, he played a key role for the Blaugrana as they won the treble.
Like Lewandowski on this list, Neymar is still hoping to lift the Ballon d’Or sometime in the future as he is still only 29 and is in the peak years of his career.
#1 Ferenc Puskas
A four-time top-scorer in La Liga, Ferenc Puskas was perhaps the greatest ever forward of the previous century and of his generation to never win the Ballon d’Or award.
Most football fans will never know how good the Hungarian forward was. Real Madrid were lucky to have his innate goal-scoring ability after he emigrated to Spain following the Hungarian revolution.
Puskas was not only prolific for all the clubs he played for. His incredible 84 goals in 85 games for the Hungarian national team is a record that not many players will be able to match.
The Hungarian was unfortunate not to win the 1954 FIFA World Cup with a team fondly remembered as the Mighty Magyars.
Puskas finished second in the race for the Ballon d’Or in 1960 behind Barcelona legend Luis Suarez.
