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#3 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) - three-time Ballon d'Or winner
Johan Cruyff is one of five players to win at least three Ballon d'Or awards. The late Dutchman is widely regarded as one of the most skilful and talented players to play the beautiful game.
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Cruyff won three European Championships with Ajax and a league title with Barcelona, among others. However, arguably his greatest contribution to the game was the introduction of the revolutionary 'total football' philosophy.
Unsurprisingly, Cruyff remains one of the best players to have never won the FIFA World Cup. In his only appearance in the quadrennial tournament in 1974, the brilliant Dutchman bagged two goals and seven assists, including one in the final.
However, West Germany recovered from an early deficit as one of the most brilliant teams ever assembled in international football returned empty-handed.
Cruyff opted out of the 1978 World Cup due to personal reasons. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner was long retired when the 1982 edition came around.
#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - five-time Ballon d'Or winner
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of only two players to win at least five Ballon d'Or awards. He has one of the most glittering resumes in club and international football. However, the FIFA World Cup title is conspicous in Ronaldo's trophy cabinet.
In fact, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has never played in a FIFA World Cup final. In his first appearance at the tournament in 2006, Ronaldo and co. were knocked out by France in the semis. The then 21-year-old scored just once in six games in that tournament, and has improved that tally to seven goals in 17 games overall.
In his next two World Cup appearances, Portugal were eliminated in the Round of 16 and in the group stage respectively. In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo lit up the tournament with a sumptuous hat-trick against Spain in a six-goal thriller in 2018. However, Portugal fell short in the Round of 16 against Uruguay.
With Portugal making it into the 2022 FIFA World Cup playoffs, the Euro 2016 winner would like to have one last go at the only major trophy to have eluded him.
#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina) - seven-time Ballon d'Or winner
Like Ronaldo, Lionel Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players ever to have graced the game.
Much like his illustrious counterpart, Messi has scored goals and won big titles galore for club and country. However, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner has failed to take Argentina to World Cup glory in four attempts.
Messi did come close in 2014, scoring four goals. But La Albiceleste lost to Germany in the final as the Golden Ball winner drew a blank in the big game.
Like Ronaldo, Messi's return of six goals in 19 World Cup games is pretty underwhelming, considering his staggering exploits in club football. However, after inspiring Argentina to their first title in nearly three decades this summer, the 2021 Copa America winner will have his eyes on the big one next year.
