Thirty Ballon d'Or winners once voted for the greatest of all time, three players voted for themselves
Thirty past winners of the Ballon d'Or trophy once participated in a vote to decide the greatest footballer of the 20th century - and Pele came out on top by some distance.
France Football, the outlet who have organised the Ballon d'Or since its inception in 1956, consulted a host of individuals who held the prize for a vote to create a brand new accolade.
There were 34 winners between 1956 and 1999, but only 30 cast votes, with Stanley Matthews, George Best and Omar Sivori all not participating. Lev Yashin, the winner in 1963, passed away in 1990.
Advert
Thirty Ballon d'Or winners voted for the greatest of all time, three players voted for themselves
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. Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alfredo Di Stefano only selected one player while Michel Platini, with three Ballon d'Ors in his collection, only voted for 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 man 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.
Johan Cruyff, Di Stefano and Michel Platini rounded off a star-studded top five.
In terms of the players who voted for themselves, Johan Cruyff, Roberto Baggio and Oleg Blokhin are named as those who did exactly that, according to El País.
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
Topics: Ballon d'Or
Josh Lawless