Ballon d'Or: Xavi, Maldini & Ribery feature in best XI of players never to win gong

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·15 October 2022

Ballon d'Or: Xavi, Maldini & Ribery feature in best XI of players never to win gong

The 2022 Ballon d’Or ceremony is set to take place on Monday.

The prize is awarded each year to who a vast array of journalists and reputable figures in the game believe to have been the best player in the world for the previous season.

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This year, Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is heavy favourite to win the award after he enjoyed a mesmeric year for Los Blancos.

Should he win, it will be the first time the Frenchman has lifted the prize and only the second time in 14 years that anyone other than Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted football's best.

The duo's dominance over the Ballon d'Or is unprecedented and as a result of their brilliance, many incredible players have cruelly been denied the opportunity to win the prize.

Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta are arguably the most notable casualties of the pair.

But Robert Lewandowski should certainly have won a Ballon d'Or by this point also.

It's all very cruel and, in some ways, we wish they could all get the recognition they deserve - but that's just sport.

Let's take a look at who Transfermarkt believe to be the greatest XI of players to never to lift the Ballon d'Or at any point in their career.

GK: Oliver Kahn

RB: Cafu CB: Alessandro Nesta CB: Paolo MaldiniLB: Roberto Carlos

RM: David Beckham CM: Xavi HernandezCM: Steven GerrardLM: Franck Ribery

ST: Robert Lewandowski ST: Thierry Henry

Transfermarkt could have opted for many goalkeepers with no stopper lifting the prize since Lev Yashin in 1963, but they went for Germany legend Kahn.

Three AC Milan icons feature across the defence in the form of Cafu, Nesta and Maldini, whilst the iconic Brazilian Carlos occupies the left-back spot.

The midfield is certainly a controversial one with Transfermarkt overlooking Iniesta for a place in the team.

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The inclusion of Beckham at right-midfield is also a strange one. Beckham was a good player, sure, but Arjen Robben was arguably much more deserving of the award.

You won't find many people arguing with the forwards, though. Lewandowski and Henry both registered some of the greatest individual seasons we've ever witnessed.

Although Luis Suarez, Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are all unlucky not to feature.