As we all know, the world's "Ballon d'Or" is the highest individual award that a football player can get, and Messi and C Ronaldo's monopoly on the "Ballon d'Or" for more than a decade since 2008 has become a football legend. However, some people feel strange that Pele and Maradona are recognized as the kings of world football, but the two of them have never won the "Ballon d'Or". Why?
The "Ballon d'Or" now commonly referred to refers to the "World Footballer of the Year" selected by FIFA and the "Ballon d'Or" selected by the authoritative magazine "French Football", which were merged into the "FIFA Ballon d'Or" in 2010 and later divided into two independent awards in 2016. Neither "World Footballer of the Year" nor "Ballon d'Or", Pele and Maradona have never won.
"Mr. World Footballer of the Year" is the highest FIFA award that footballers can personally win, but "World Footballer of the Year" was not officially established until 1991. By 1991, Pele, who retired in 1977, had been out of the green field for 12 years. Maradona was also in the late stages of his career and remained unable to dominate until his retirement in 1997.
The Ballon d'Or awards were created in 1956 by Football France, and the first winner was England star Stanley Matthews. However, the "Ballon d'Or" was only awarded to players of European nationality at that time, hence the name "European Ballon d'Or". It was not until 1995 that the Ballon d'Or was extended to players playing for UEFA clubs and in 2007 to all professional players worldwide.
In 1995, Pele had been retired for 18 years, and Maradona had returned to play for argentine clubs, and the two of them naturally could not win the "Ballon d'Or". The first non-European player to win the Ballon d'Or was the current President of Liberia, George Weah. However, Pele and Maradona have won the FIFA Ball of Honor André Awards and the Ballon d'Or for Special Contributions respectively.