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Thierry Henry is one of the finest players the Premier League has ever seen. The Frenchman was an outstanding player, setting the world alight for Arsenal and Barcelona at club level.
Winning all the biggest team prizes the sport has to offer - the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, World Cup - Henry was unfortunate to miss out on the pinnacle of individual accolades.
The 2003 Ballon d'Or looked destined to be awarded to the Gunners hero, but he was pipped to the post by Pavel Nedved.
After being asked about being overlooked for the Golden Ball many years later, the ex-France international claimed that he was at peace with the decision. Henry said:
"You can't debate opinions. When journalists are involved in votes, they vote whatever they want.
"However you want to look at it, they vote whatever they want and when you look at the votes in the history of it, not only my year, every year, you look at the first three, and you're like, really? It is what it is. You can't debate opinions."
While he had come to terms with the award being out of his hands, Henry has previously spoken about the 'disgrace' that saw Liverpool hero Steven Gerrard miss out on the biggest individual honour in the sport.
The Reds' captain was pivotal in a fairytale Champions League triumph against AC Milan and Henry felt his peer should have been recognised for that effort.
After going on to have many more successful years in the sport, Gerrard eventually retired as one of the greatest midfielders the Premier League has ever seen.
As a result, the Liverpool legend was inducted into the division's Hall of Fame. The Premier League website shared Henry's thoughts about his former rival, as he said:
"It was a disgrace he didn’t win European Footballer of the Year after Istanbul in 2005 and, for me, he will be regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time."
The Ballon d'Or was previously recognised as the European Football of the Year award as it was only open to those within the continent. In 1995, it was expanded to include all players of any origin who have been active at European clubs, and in 2007, it was opened to all players.
In 2005, Gerrard got as close as third to winning the award that year, with Frank Lampard and Ronaldinho - the winner - finishing ahead of him.
Gerrard was the driving force behind the greatest comeback in Champions League history. Not only did the Reds overturn a 3-0 half-time deficit, but they did so against one of the most talented teams the game has ever seen, Carlo Ancelotti's AC Milan.
The Scouse hero scored his team's opening goal with a looping header before winning the penalty that Xabi Alonso eventually converted to pull the game back to 3-3.
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The first 10 finals after the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League, 1993 to 2002
All 10 found — excellent!
Not only was he sensational in the final itself, but Gerrard was instrumental in Liverpool's run to the final that year. Who could forget his clutch volley against Olympiacos to keep the Merseysiders in Europe?
Sadly for him, though, all that wasn't enough to convince voters he deserved the Ballon d'Or ahead of Ronaldinho.
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