Football may be about to lose one of its greatest legends as Pele has reportedly moved to end-of-life care after a battle with cancer.
Sadly, the Brazilian legend has stopped responding to his chemotherapy treatment and he’s now receiving palliative care.
It is truly heartbreaking to hear this news about one of the game’s greatest-ever players, but when his time does come, he’ll be leaving behind an unparalleled legacy.
Three World Cups, an almost uncountable number of goals and a cultural impact unmatched by any other player. When all is said and done, Pele may be the greatest of all-time.
However, there was one award that he never won, and that’s the prestigious Ballon d’Or.
How many Ballons d’Or did Pele win?
Perhaps surprisingly, Pele didn’t win a single Ballon d’Or.
Indeed, despite being widely recognised as the best player in the world throughout the mid-20th century, Pele never won this award due to the fact that at the time only European players were eligible to win the award.
No non-European would win the award until George Weah in 1995, while Ronaldo became the first South American to win the award in 1997.
For the same reason, another all-time great, Diego Maradona also never won a Ballon d’Or.
Footballer of the Century
Despite never winning the Ballon d’Or, Pele did win France Football’s most prestigious prize as he was named as the Footballer of the Century in 1999.
In 2016, France Football did a re-imagined version of every Ballon d’Or award from 1956 to 1995 with non-European players included, and Pele was voted as the winner of seven of those awards.
However, those are unofficial Ballon d’Or awards and are not recognised in the lineage of this award, so officially, Pele does not have a single Ballon d’Or to his name.
Pele may not have won a Ballon d’Or, but if there was ever a player who didn’t need this award to cement their legacy, it’s Pele.
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