The Ballon d’Or is the most coveted individual award in football. Even after a decade in which the prize was mostly dominated by two football GOATs, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it has not lost its hype and relevancy.
Quite the opposite, the discourse around the Ballon d’Or has been evolving in recent years. The pivotal question is what the main characteristics should be when picking the winner. Should the award go to the player with the most goals and assists? In this case, forwards and attacking-midfielders would be at a huge advantage, like it has been the case throughout history. Or are other factors such as consistency, importance on the field and team success also important?
There is no definitive answer to these questions, and the truth might be somewhere in the middle. Nevertheless, attacking statistics will likely always be important. Even online bookmakers, such as those featured on www.legalbet.uk or other review platforms, won’t deny it — centre-forwards or wide forwards are almost always among the top favourites for this prestigious award. And given this circumstance, can a modern defender realistically win the Ballon d’Or in the near future?
Fabio Cannavaro – the Last to Do It
Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or in 2006, remaining the last defender to get his hands on the prestigious award. Cannavaro was rewarded for his solid season with Real Madrid but, needless to say, his main achievement that year was the FIFA World Cup triumph with Italy. As captain of the national team, Fabio had an incredible tournament in Germany, showing true leadership and flawless defensive aptitude.
Before Cannavaro, the last defender to be awarded the Ballon d’Or was Matthias Sammer in 1996. The German sweeper beat Ronaldo Nazario by a single point in the voting, and was recognized for his league-cup double with Borussia Dortmund and incredible technical abilities for a defender.
In-between these two awards, there were other defenders that made it to the Ballon d’Or podium but did not end up receiving the award – Roberto Carlos in 2002 and Paolo Maldini in 2003. Since Cannavaro, though, we have only seen one defender in the final three at a Ballon d’Or gala event.
Van Dijk and the Close Race with Messi
After an extraordinary season with Liverpool, Virgil van Dijk got incredibly close to repeating the Fabio Cannavaro feat. The Dutch centre-back entered the voting as the winner of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and after being named as player of the year in the Premier League. Although Liverpool did not win the title in England, everyone recognized the impeccable defending Van Dijk was showing that year, with his well-timed tackles, smart movement off the ball and great passing.
And even so, in 2019 Virgil fell seven points short in the voting and lost the Ballon d’Or award to Messi, a man he had defeated in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. But it is also true that the Argentine had a solid campaign, winning La Liga and showing great numbers, with 51 goals and 22 assists in 50 appearances that campaign.
But the UEFA Champions League triumph from Liverpool combined with Van Dijk’s individual performances made many neutral fans believe that the defender deserved the honour that year.
Different Scenarios for Defenders to Win Ballon d’Or
One good news for defenders is that Rodri won the Ballon d’Or in 2024. He is the player with the most defensive profile to win the award since Cannavaro, although he is clearly a midfielder. Nevertheless, Rodri being handed the prize signifies two important things: people have started appreciating football beyond goals and assists and factors like consistency, intelligence, contribution to the overall team success are also taken into consideration.
Thus, there are several scenarios in which a defender could win the Ballon d’Or in the next few years. But in all these scenarios there is one constant – there should not be a forward who is having an otherworldly season with 50 goals and 20 assists while sweeping every club trophy.
As long as that does not happen, we might get someone like Trent-Alexander Arnold (who recently expressed his interest in the award) or Federico Dimarco get a shot at the Ballon d’Or. Should their team win important trophies in a season and these exceptional attack-oriented defenders play crucial roles, they could see their efforts rewarded.
Another scenario is defenders like Riccardo Calafiori, Alessandro Bastoni or Marc Cucurella be given the award for the intricate tactical role they play on the field and how good they are at it.
And finally, why not a classical defender that is unpassable and a great leader of men: Ruben Dias, Van Dijk, and in the distant future, Pau Cubarsi?