There is no bigger individual prize in football that comes close to the Ballon d'Or. Thousands of players will win trophies and accolades across their career, but only a select few will have the honor of receiving the most coveted individual award that 'the beautiful game' has to offer.

So you would think that, with such a desirable trophy on the line, the award would have strict systems in place to ensure fairness and equality during the nomination and voting process.

But since 1956, the Ballon d'Or has given us shock winners, snubbed legends, boycotts, rigging claims and awards nights that were overshadowed by what happened off the pitch.

From Wesley Sneijder's 2010 heartbreak, to Real Madrid's 2024 walkout and the COVID cancellation that cost Robert Lewandowski, we have ranked the biggest Ballon d'Or controversies of all time by significance, reaction and how long the arguments have been debated.

13 The Website 'Leak' (2026)

Just hours before the 70th ceremony at the London Palladium, the Ballon d'Or's own website published three separate articles crowning Harry Kane, Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappé. Organisers labeled it an "involuntary error" and insisted the podium hadn't been revealed. Kane did go on to become the first Englishman to win the award since Michael Owen in 2001, but the blunder overshadowed the build-up to the first ceremony ever held outside France.

12 Ronaldo vs the Ballon d'Or Boss (2021)

Days before the 2021 ceremony, France Football editor Pascal Ferre told the New York Times that Ronaldo's only ambition was to retire with more Ballons d'Or than Lionel Messi. Ronaldo responded via Instagram just hours before the winner was announced, accusing Ferre of lying and of using his name for self-promotion. He skipped the ceremony and finished sixth, his worst placing since 2010.

11 Manuel Neuer (2014)

Neuer won the World Cup and the Golden Glove with Germany, revolutionising goalkeeping on his way as he looked set to become just the second-ever goalkeeper to win the award, after Lev Yashin in 1963. However, he finished third, 0.04% behind second-place Messi, with Ronaldo winning the award despite his Portugal side exiting the World Cup in the group stage. Franz Beckenbauer branded the result "unfair", with Neuer's Bayern teammate, Robert Lewandowski, later admitting that voting for Ronaldo was a mistake and Philipp Lahm also claiming the Bayern shot stopper should've won the award.

10 Fabio Cannavaro (2006)

Cannavaro captained Italy to World Cup glory, and that was enough to secure him the Ballon d'Or in 2006. However, critics argued that his goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, was the better choice, and that Thierry Henry had a strong case too. The Frenchman finished second, held back because Arsenal didn't win the league or go further in Europe than Juventus. No defender has won the Ballon d'Or since Cannavaro's triumph.

9 Lionel Messi Over Erling Haaland (2023)

It was the World Cup against the treble. Haaland had broken various records and netted 52 goals for Manchester City as they won the Premier League, FA Cup and the club's first ever Champions League, but Argentina's triumph in Qatar carried more weight with voters. Lothar Matthäus called Messi's win undeserved, saying it showed a World Cup counts above everything else. In the end, Messi won comfortably with 462 points to Haaland's 357.

8 Ousmane Dembélé Over Lamine Yamal (2025)

Although Dembélé's win after PSG's treble was backed by the numbers, Lamine Yamal's father, Mounir Nasraoui, refused to believe his son hadn't won it and called the decision the "greatest moral harm" in football. And it wasn't just the winner that caused controversy: Raphinha missed the top three, Pedri missed the top ten, and Harry Kane finished just 13th despite scoring 41 goals for Bayern.

7 Virgil Van Dijk (2019)

In 2019, Virgil van Dijk came astonishingly close to becoming the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or since Cannavaro. Messi won by just seven points, 686 to 679. More voters ranked van Dijk first than Messi, but the deciding factor was the African vote: journalists there ranked Sadio Mané second, behind Messi, which effectively cost his Liverpool teammate the award.

6 Pele and Maradona's Exclusion (1956-1994)

Football's two greatest icons never won a competitive Ballon d'Or because the award was originally restricted to Europeans. Non-Europeans at European clubs only became eligible in 1995, and the award didn't go fully global until 2007. In 2016, France Football admitted the injustice with a retrospective review, concluding that Pele would have won seven times and Maradona twice, though the official record never changed.

5 Lionel Messi Over Robert Lewandowski (2021)

Despite having won a domestic double, as well as the FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup, Lewandowski's 580 points lost out to Messi's 613, with the Argentine's Copa América seen as the clincher. German media called the result "scandalous" and, on stage, Messi said France Football should give Lewandowski the canceled 2020 award. The Polish striker later said that he hoped those weren't just empty words.

4 The COVID Cancellation (2020)

Lewandowski's goals had just led Bayern to a treble that included the Champions League when France Football did something unprecedented by canceling the 2020 award, citing the pandemic's disruption to the football calendar. Rio Ferdinand called the decision "cruel" and urged Lewandowski to start a petition. Years later, the striker admitted he felt that one of the 2020 or 2021 awards should have been his.