Thirty Ballon d'Or winners once voted for the greatest player of all time and the results were incredible

Thirty past winners of the Ballon d'Or trophy once participated in a vote to decide who is the 'Football Player of the Century', with one star coming out on top by a landslide.

France Football, the outlet who have organised the Ballon d'Or since its inception in 1956, consulted a whole host of individuals who held the prize for a vote to create a brand new accolade.

There were 34 winners from between 1956 to 1999 but only 30 cast votes, with Stanley Matthews, George Best and Omar Sivori all not participating and Lev Yashin, winner in 1963, having passed away in 1990.

As per the RSSSF, all voters were tasked with picking five players from the list of winners - ranked between one and five. The criteria stipulated that five points would be allocated for first place, four points for 2nd, three points for third, two points for fourth and one point for fifth.

However, the voting process was a strange one as two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alfredo Di Stefano only selected one player and Michel Platini, with three Ballon d'Ors in his collection, only wanted for a first and second place.

Bizarrely, 1995 winner George Weah proceeded to pick just two players - Bobby Charlton and Roger Milla - for fifth place, so that they accrued half a point each.

In the end, voting saw Brazil icon Pele come out on top with 122 points - with nearly double the votes given to fellow legend Diego Maradona. Neither men officially won a Ballon d'Or because they were never eligible at any point during their decorated careers, but they were later honoured with commemorative versions.

Pele came out on top in the voting by a long way. Image: Getty

Johan Cruyff, Di Stefano and Michel Platini rounded off a star-studded top five.

Football player of the century votes in full:

1.Pele - 122 points

2.Diego Maradona - 65 points

3.Johan Cruyff - 62 points

4.Alfredo Di Stefano - 44 points

5.Michel Platini - 40 points

6.Franz Beckenbauer - 35 points

7.Ferenc Puskas - 12 points

8.Marco van Basten - 11 points

9.Zico - 7 points

10.Gerd Muller - 5 points

=Lev Yashin - 5 points

12.Enzo Francescoli - 4 points

=Garrincha - 4 points

=George Best - 4 points

15.Rafael Gordillo - 3 points

16.Bobby Charlton - 2.5 points

17.Romario - 2 points

18.Roberto Baggio - 1 point

=Oleg Blokhin - 1 point

=Just Fontaine - 1 point

=Raymond Kopa - 1 point

=Fritz Walter - 1 point

=Dino Zoff - 1 point

24.Roger Milla - 0.5 point