The Ballon d'Or is a significant annual event in global football, with players and fans eager to find out who has been declared the best in the world.
However, in 2020, the award ceremony was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the disappointment of many (not least Robert Lewandowski, who was odds-on favourite to win the men's main prize for the first time). That meant France Football had to find something to fill the gap in the scheduling.
They came up with the Ballon d'Or dream team: an all-star XI, as voted for by chosen journalists from around the world — much like the Ballon d'Or itself. Fans were invited to cast their vote before the final lineup was selected by 140 select members of the media. In the end, they actually picked an all-time XI and two back-up teams, such was the wealth of talent put forward.
Here is who made the cut.
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Ballon d'Or dream team: The players voted onto all-star XI
France Football's invited journalists whittled down the nominations list to come up with an all-star XI, which was announced on December 14, 2020. It's important to note that not all the players in the team actually won the Ballon d'Or — previously lifting the trophy was not a requisite of being a candidate for the dream team.
Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin
Yashin remains the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or, so this felt like a fair choice. The former Soviet Union international is still considered by many to be the greatest keeper that ever played.
Defender: Cafu
Brazil's most-capped player and winner of two FIFA World Cups, Cafu is arguably the best full-back in history. In a storied career, he won every major trophy going with Sao Paulo and AC Milan, the two teams with which he is best associated.
Defender: Franz Beckenbauer
A centre-back who carried the ball out of defence to orchestrate play, rather than simply stopping opponents from doing so? Not for nothing is this still sometimes referred to as "the Beckenbauer role". The first man to win the World Cup as a player and manager, Beckenbauer, or "Der Kaiser", is one of Germany's greatest ever players.
Defender: Paolo Maldini
The best centre-back of the past 30 years, Maldini spent a quarter of a century marshalling the AC Milan and Italy defences. His 26 trophies with Milan included five European Cup/Champions League titles, and his 126 caps for the Azzurri is a record bettered only by two players.
Midfielder: Xavi Hernandez
Xavi was the cornerstone of the great Barcelona team under Pep Guardiola and the Spain side that swept all before them from 2008 to 2012. He came to define the tiki-taka style of possession-based play that dominated the football landscape in Europe for a decade or more. He finished third in the Ballon d'Or standings three times.
Midfielder: Lothar Matthaus
Matthaus won the 1990 Ballon d'Or after leading Germany to World Cup glory. A multiple German champion with Bayern Munich, he also won Serie A and the UEFA Cup (the old Europa League) with Inter Milan. Described by Diego Maradona as his toughest opponent, Matthaus was one of the most versatile midfielders the game has seen.
Forward: Diego Maradona
For many, the greatest of all time. Maradona boasted skill with a ball that has rarely been seen before or since, his technical ability more than compensating for his diminutive stature during a physically bruising era. Maradona is best known for inspiring Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986 and leading Napoli to historic league and UEFA Cup triumphs.
Forward: Pele
The "other" alongside Maradona in the pantheon of greats. Pele was a prodigious talent who burst onto the scene in the 1950s, when the game looked very different to today. A winner of three World Cups with Brazil, Pele spent almost all his career with Santos before a short spell in the United States with the New York Cosmos. He was one of the first global stars of the game, and is still recognised by much of the world as the G.O.A.T.
Forward: Lionel Messi
For years, it was Maradona or Pele. In the 21st century, it's been Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi, like his compatriot, lacks physical prowess but makes up for it with a technique arguably beyond anything the game has witnessed. He won every trophy going with Barcelona and ended Argentina's long wait for the World Cup in 2022. His eight Ballon d'Or wins is a record.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
The leading goal-scorer in world football, Ronaldo won his first Ballon d'Or with Manchester United in 2008 and a further four while playing — and smashing records — for Real Madrid. Still going as he approaches his 41st birthday, the Portugal star's success and longevity stand out as potentially unrivalled.
Striker: Ronaldo
Ronaldo Luis Nazario da Lima, nicknamed "O Fenomeno", was twice a Ballon d'Or winner who redefined how a modern No. 9 could play the game. One of the first celebrity footballers of the late 20th century, when the game was becoming increasingly global, Ronaldo won two World Cups with Brazil and dazzled for Barcelona, Inter Milan and Real Madrid before chronic injury problems caught up with him. Bobby Robson, his old Barcelona coach, said of R9: "Had he managed to stay free of injury, he had every chance of becoming the best footballer ever."
Ballon d'Or all-star second and third teams
Two "back-up" XIs were created from the vote as a result of the sheer number of world-class players put forward for consideration.
Second team
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon
Defenders: Carlos Alberto, Franco Baresi, Roberto Carlos
Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo, Frank Rijkaard, Zinedine Zidane
Forwards: Alfredo Di Stefano, Garrincha, Johan Cruyff, Ronaldinho
Third team
Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
Defenders: Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Paul Breitner
Midfielders: Michel Platini, Johan Neeskens, Didi, Andres Iniesta
Forwards: George Best, Marco van Basten, Thierry Henry
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