A simple search of the Ballon d’Or records will not find the name of the late Brazilian legend Pelé, although most football fans consider him the best person to ever touch the ball.
Pelé’s remarkable brilliance with Brazil’s Santos between 1956 and 1974 and with his country’s national team made the coronation of another player other than him the Ballon d’Or in that period, ironic and controversial, especially in the years when the “king” led his country won world championship in 1958, 1962 and 1970 and he is the only player in history to win the world championship three times.
Why didn’t Pele win the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or presented by France Football magazine was initially limited to the best European player active in Europe (between 1956 and 1994), then the best player in Europe between 1995 and 2006 and the best player in Europe. world since 2007.
Pelé, recognized by the International Olympic Committee as the best athlete of the last century in 1999 and a year later, was not crowned by FIFA as the best player of the same century due to the fact that the “black pearl” was not eligible to claim the Golden Ball, since his career came at a time when the award was limited exclusively to European players.
For example, Pelé deserved to be crowned the Ballon d’Or at least three times when he led his country to World Cup victory in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
And after France Football decided in 1995 to allow non-European players to compete for the Ballon d’Or (regardless of their nationality) on the condition that they defend the colors of the European club, Liberian George Weah, a former Milan striker, became the first non-European player. -European player who received the award in 1995. It was then followed by Brazilian stars such as the “phenomenon” Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Kaka, and then came the dominance of the Portuguese duo Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentinean Lionel Messi at the Ballon d’Or, like the first, crowned with five balls, and the second with seven (record ).
– replacement of pellets
France Football tried to correct its mistake by depriving Pelé and other legends of the Ballon d’Or coronation, so they decided to revisit history and give back to the stars the rights they had lost due to the previous Ballon d’Or regulations, and in 1999 Pelé was awarded the prize, similar to the “Golden Ball”, as the best player of the twentieth century.
Source: RT+agencies
