A simple look into the records of Ballon d'Or winners reveals that neither Brazilian Pelé nor Argentine Diego Maradona appears on the list, despite the fact that most football enthusiasts consider this duo the greatest of all time. Pelé's remarkable brilliance with Santos FC between 1956 and 1974, as well as with the Brazilian national team, makes it seem absurd and controversial that another player was awarded the Ballon d'Or during that time, especially in the years when "the King" led Brazil to World Cup triumphs in 1958, 1962, and 1970, making him the only player in history to win the World Cup three times. Similarly, the late Argentine legend Maradona was also "denied" the chance to win the Ballon d'Or at least once when he single-handedly led his national team to victory in the 1986 World Cup.
Why didn’t Pelé and Maradona win the Ballon d'Or? The reason both legends were not awarded the prestigious prize, given by the French magazine "France Football," is that the award was initially only for the best European player in Europe from 1956 until 1994. It was only years after Pelé's retirement and towards the end of Maradona's career that the rules were revised to include players playing for European clubs, with Liberian George Weah becoming the first non-European to win the Ballon d'Or in 1995. Starting in 2007, the Ballon d'Or began to be awarded to the best player in the world.
To compensate for the oversight of denying Pelé and other football legends their rightful Ballon d'Ors, "France Football" tried to amend the situation by reviewing history and awarding stars their lost rights due to previous Ballon d'Or regulations. In 1999, they awarded Pelé a prize similar to the Ballon d'Or as the best player of the 20th century.
