Controversy over the winner of the Ballon d'Or is as old as the award itself.
Going back to the inaugural edition in 1956, veteran English great Stanley Matthews pipping Real Madrid's Alfredo Di Stefano to top spot was not universally popular.
Much of this comes down to the fact that, outside of the stipulated dates within which performances should be considered (from 2022 there was a switch for votes to cover the most recently completed European season as opposed to the calendar year), there is no real voting criteria, other than the fact players must be at European clubs to be considered for the prize.
It simply comes down to what the journalists casting their ballots feel. Do they base it on a weight of statistics and trophies, or a string of displays that can't be quantified by sheer numbers? Are we focusing on the here and now, or the culmination of a wider narrative arc?
The answer is all of the above. And this variously leads to consensus and conflict with the wider public. Whoever ended up prevailing in the 2023 battle between Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland, the runner-up was always going to be viewed by many as incredibly hard done by.
With that in mind, here are six of the biggest injustices in Ballon d'Or history.
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Alfredo Di Stefano (1956)
Matthews' incredible longevity was a key reason for him getting the nod and walking away with the first Ballon d'Or. The right-winger was six weeks shy of his 42nd birthday when he received the gong and still operating at an elite level. He helped Blackpool to a second-place finish in the English top flight in 1955/56 and the Tangerines were riding high in Division One once more when he collected the Ballon d'Or that December.
However, Di Stefano inspired Real Madrid to glory in the inaugural European Cup, the first of five straight successes for Los Blancos in a competition they made their own. Madrid were also in the middle of a run of four LaLiga titles in five years. The Argentina-born forward was the consensus best player in the world. Raymond Kopa coming third arguably split the Madrid vote to Matthews' advantage.
Di Stefano's disappointment did not last long as he won the top prize in 1957 and 1959. He is also the only winner in history of the Super Ballon d'Or.
David Beckham (1999)
Beckham left the 1998 World Cup in ignominy and at the centre of a tabloid storm in the UK. His red card against Argentina preceded England's last-16 exit on penalties. He was barracked at away grounds as Manchester United began their 1998/99 season. They ended the campaign in possession of a historic treble and Beckham was their best player.
Rivaldo excelled as Barcelona won the second of back-to-back LaLiga titles that season, a truly magical player. Barca were also knocked out in the same Champions League group from which United progressed to win the big trophy at Camp Nou against Bayern Munich. Either would have been a worthy winner, but Beckham's 1999 accomplishments are the ones that endure.
Thierry Henry (2003)
Arsenal won the Premier League in 2001/02 and did so again by famously going unbeaten throughout the 2003/04 season. Henry was the player who truly set them apart, a sublime combination of grace, poise, pace and power at his peak. The lack of a Champions League title for the Gunners perhaps counted against him.
Henry remains celebrated to a far greater extent than Pavel Nedved, but the stylish wide midfielder beat him to the 2003 Ballon d'Or and it wasn't even particularly close. The Czech Republic star hoovered up 27 first-place ballots, compared to eight for Henry and seven for the great Paolo Maldini in third.
Nedved scored nine goals and laid on 10 assists in 29 matches as Juventus claimed back-to-back Serie A titles in 2002/03. He was also superb in the Champions League before Juve lost on penalties to AC Milan in one of the most dour finals in living memory. An exceptional year, but a better player than Henry at that moment in time? Hmm…
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Wesley Sneijder (2010)
Sneijder had the misfortune of producing the season of his career at the beginning of the Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era. Following Ronaldo's 2008 triumph, Messi won the second of four in a row in 2010, the first year in which the award fell under the auspices of world football's governing body to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Messi's 2009 and 2011 triumphs were indisputable as he starred for a Barcelona team that swept all before them in Spain and Europe. Given Pep Guardiola's subsequent successes, it can also be strongly argued that he was the best player in the side that set the course for 21st-century football.
But Barca fell to Inter Milan in the 2009/10 Champions League semifinals, a victory that is often credited to Jose Mourinho's Machiavellian streak. Sneijder was exceptional as Inter became the first Italian team to win the treble, also lifting Serie A and the Coppa Italia. Worst of all for the Dutch playmaker, he didn't even make the podium, as Xavi and Andres Iniesta's part in Spain's World Cup triumph (over Sneijder and the Netherlands in the final, no less) contributed to a Barcelona clean sweep.
Robert Lewandowski (2020 & 2021)
Lewandowski was Bayern Munich's star man as they won a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble in 2019/20, scoring a scarcely credible 55 goals in 47 appearances. However, that was a season like no other, interrupted as it was by the coronavirus pandemic. France Football decided that no Ballon d'Or would be awarded in 2020.
It's hard to make a case for anyone other than Lewandowski winning in that year, but he dusted himself down and went again to enjoy another phenomenally prolific season for Bayern in 2020/21. However, they were eliminated in the Champions League quarterfinals by PSG and that left the door ajar to Messi, who was excellent despite the engulfing shambles of his final season at Barcelona. Most importantly, Leo ended his career-long wait for a major international honour as Argentina lifted the 2021 Copa America in Brazil.
MORE: Explaining how the Ballon d'Or vote works
Erling Haaland (2023)
Haaland's non-victory in 2023 became a hot topic as soon as Messi's win was confirmed. Just like in 1956, the career-long arc held sway over the present-day titan. The Manchester City striker was Di Stefano to Messi's Matthews.
On his debut season in Manchester, Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances for City, including a new Premier League record of 36 in a single campaign. Guardiola's team swept the board, winning a treble. In any year where Lionel Messi doesn't win the World Cup, there would be very little debate over the rightful winner of the Ballon d'Or.
Haaland's failure to make much of an impression during City's FA Cup and Champions League showpiece wins over Manchester United and Inter might have hurt him in the final analysis but it remains a staggering body of work. At 23, time is very much on his side to make the post-Messi era his own.
