There have been some massive superstars of the game who never lifted the prestigious Ballon d'Or, so we combined them to form a dream team!
Click through the gallery above to see Soccer Laduma's XI of superstars who failed to claim a Golden Ball!
Lionel Messi picked up his sixth Golden Ball on Monday, beating competition from Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to do so.
While the latter has already lifted five Ballons d'Or himself, Van Dijk will hope to get another chance in the future, or he could find himself joining an illustrious list of players who never won the prestigious award.
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In goal, Gianluigi Buffon is arguably the best shot-stopper to never put his hands on the Golden Ball, despite winning multiple trophies at club level and the 2006 FIFA World Cup with Italy.
Three more World Cup winners are in our defence, namely Philipp Lahm, Bobby Moore and Roberto Carlos, while Paolo Maldini may never have been a world champion but claimed five UEFA Champions League titles. However, he, too, never lifted France Football's Golden Ball.
In midfield, former FC Barcelona duo Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez came close to winning it but never did. Iniesta finished as a runner-up in 2010, while Xavi ended up in third position in successive years between 2009 and 2011.
The midfield trio is completed by Eric Cantona, another of the game's former superstars to never win the biggest individual accolade.
Read: Why Ronaldo Did Not Attend Ballon d'Or Gala Revealed
Up front, Raul Gonzalez certainly has a claim, as have Thierry Henry and Ferenc Puskas. The latter even has a FIFA award named after him, but only managed to finish as a runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 1960.
Which other players do you think would have deserved to win a Ballon d'Or in their prime? Have your say in the comments section below.
