The well-known British portal FourFourTwo has ranked the most controversial decisions in the history of the Ballon d’Or awards. The legendary Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko, who won the award in 2004, is mentioned in this list.
TOP-10 «thefts» in the history of the Ballon d’Or according to FourFourTwo
1. Robert Lewandowski should have received the award in 2021 instead of Lionel Messi or in 2020 when the award was not presented due to the pandemic.
2. Thierry Henry should have received the award in 2003 instead of Pavel Nedved or in 2004 instead of Andriy Shevchenko.
3. Wesley Sneijder should have received the award in 2010 instead of Lionel Messi.
4. Erling Haaland should have received the award in 2023 instead of Lionel Messi.
5. Franck Ribéry should have received the award in 2013 instead of Cristiano Ronaldo.
6. Virgil van Dijk should have received the award in 2019 instead of Lionel Messi.
7. Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, or Antoine Griezmann should have received the award in 2018 instead of Luka Modric.
8. Oliver Kahn or Raúl González should have received the award in 2001 instead of Michael Owen.
9. Ferenc Puskás should have received the award in 1960 instead of Luis Suárez.
10. Gianluigi Buffon should have received the award in 2006 instead of Fabio Cannavaro.
