Roy Keane and Gary Neville say Manchester United had the best player to never win the Ballon d’Or

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After Ousmane Dembele won the Ballon d’Or this week, two Manchester United players have given their verdicts on another ex-player who should have had the prestigious honour during his career.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Dembele was the obvious candidate to win the Ballon d’Or, awarded in Paris this week. He follows Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who won the accolade last year.

It continues a more unpredictable trend in the major football awards since superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi left the European leagues to move to Saudi Arabia and the USA respectively.

Between 2008 and 2023, Messi and Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or 13 times between them, with only Luka Modric and Karim Benzema breaking their dominance. However, Roy Keane and Gary Neville say another player should have earned recognition.

Roy Keane and Gary Neville agree that Wayne Rooney should have won the Ballon d’Or

Asked for a quickfire answer on the best player never to win the Ballon d’Or, Stick to Football pundits gave a range of names of some of the best players in recent years.

Gary Neville instantly said his former teammate Wayne Rooney, with Roy Keane quickly in agreement regarding the England legend.

What makes the suggestion more remarkable is that Rooney never made it to the final three on a Ballon d’Or shortlist, despite his stellar playing career.

In the year Rooney won the Champions League with Manchester United, teammate Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or, followed by Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Fernando Torres.

Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright agree on Arsenal legend as alternative Ballon d’Or pick

One player who did get close to winning the Ballon d’Or was Thierry Henry, who finished second in 2003 and third in 2006.

Henry was backed by Jamie Carragher and Ian Wright as their ‘best player to never win the Ballon d’Or’. He was runner-up to Pavel Nedved in 2003 and third behind World Cup winners Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon in 2006.

Henry did get recognition, however, in 2020 when he was given a place in the all-time Ballon d’Or ‘Dream Team’. Henry was voted in the ‘third team’, ranked as the third best left-winger of all time in the voting.

The Frenchman beat the likes of Ryan Giggs, Rivaldo and Hristo Stoichkov, with Cristiano Ronaldo making the ‘first team’ and Ronaldinho voted into the second team.