The Ballon d'Or is one of the best accolades a footballer can get their hands on. Invented in 1956, it was originally designed to celebrate the best player in Europe, before expanding in 1995 to include stars from any nation playing for a European club. Once a year, the award is handed out to the very best player over the previous 12 months at a special gala that welcomes the biggest names from all football past and present.
It is incredible enough to be bestowed the honour even if you have a chance of winning it annually. So, imagine how much of a privilege it would be to win an award that labels you as the undisputed number one of your generation. That is exactly what the , as Alfredo Di Stefano was crowned the best player of the previous 30 years ahead of Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini.
With the 40-year anniversary of this award around the corner, has decided to rank the top 10 most likely candidates to win the once in a lifetime prize for their performance over the last four decades. The 30 greatest footballers of all time have been named but who comes out on top; Messi, Ronaldo or Maradona? There were so many incredible names that just didn't make the cut. Previous Ballon d'Or winners such as Kaka and Luka Modric missed out by a hair, as did icons like Thierry Henry.
10th spot though, goes to the Netherlands' . The all-action midfielder is one of the , and was not long into his AC Milan career when the first Super Ballon d'Or was handed out. He had just won his own gold.