Who is the king of football? Bailey ? Maradona ? Messi or C Ronaldo ? This may be one of the most controversial questions of all time, as every generation has its own answer. But what is certain is that Brazilian legend Pele is undoubtedly one of the strong contenders for the football title.
On December 29, local time, Brazilian football legend Pele passed away at the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at the age of 82. In a 21-year career, Pele has many honors: the youngest World Cup winner, the only player to win the World Cup three times (1958, 1962 and 1970), the top scorer in Brazilian history, and the recognized Guinness World Record holder (1,279 goals in 1,363 games) ball), was called the "Best Player of the 20th Century" by FIFA ...
But among these many honors, the only thing missing is the Golden Globe Award. People can't help but wonder: Why has Pele never won the Ballon d'Or? You know, Messi has seven Ballon d'Or awards and Cristiano Ronaldo has five.
Pele has won the World Cup three times. Source Network (the same below)
What is now generally referred to as the "Golden Ball Award" refers to the " World Footballer " selected by FIFA and the "Golden Ball Award" selected by the authoritative magazine " French Football ". But no matter how the award settings and names change, as the number one individual award in world football, Pele has never won it.
The Golden Globe Award selected by "French Football" was established in 1956. The first winner was England star Stanley Matthews. However, the Ballon d'Or was only awarded to players of European nationality at that time, so it was called the "European Ballon d'Or". It was not until 1995 that the Ballon d'Or was extended to players who played for UEFA clubs, and in 2007 to all professional players around the world. The
rule change was too late for Bailey. Pele never played in Europe during his career, spending most of his time with Brazilian club Santos before joining American club New York Cosmos in the final years of his career. Even when the Ballon d'Or changed its rules in 1995, Pele had been retired for 18 years. Therefore, Pele could only miss the Ballon d'Or in his career.
Pele won the first FIFA Ballon d'Or (Honorable Mention)
But when the FIFA Ballon d'Or (Honorable Mention) was established in 2014, Pele undoubtedly became the first legend to receive this honor in recognition of his contribution to world football. On top of that, France Football conducted a retrospective study in 2015, and after studying every record and conducting a comprehensive "international re-evaluation", they revealed that had Pele been eligible for the Ballon d'Or, he would have been Winning the Ballon d'Or seven times during his career, in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1970, would put him tied with Messi for the top spot.
Although Pele never actually won the Ballon d'Or in his career, this does not affect his greatness and significant contribution to football. His experience and dedication have left a strong mark on the football world.
