Thierry Henry's crazy stats saw the Arsenal legend stripped of the Ballon d'Or and left one winner shocked

By premiernews On Oct 25, 2024

Winning the Ballon d'Or is a universal dream among footballers, as it is one of the most prestigious individual achievements in sport.

Numerous legends of the game have lifted the iconic trophy except Henry Thierrywho faced possibly one of the biggest snubs of all.

Henry was in sensational form for Arsenal in 2004.Credit: Getty

He was part of the squad that won the Premier League without losing a gameCredit: Getty

Since it was first introduced in 1956, the Ballon d'Or It is primarily awarded to the player for his best achievements in the calendar year.

This was changed in 2022 to take into account the previous season, but in previous years voters followed the old rules.

Henry was named one of 50 nominees for the award in 2004, when the forward was then playing for the Arsenal and France.

During that calendar year, he scored an incredible 46 goals and added a further 16 assists across all competitions for club and country.

He was crucial to Arsenal's Invincible Premier League title success during that time and therefore one of the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or.

However, he finished fourth behind the winner. Andriy ShevchenkoDeco, second place, and Ronaldinho, third.

The Ukrainian Shevchenko was the top scorer in Serie A with 24 goals in the 2003/04 campaign at AC Milan, with which he won the Italian league title.

Deco won the Portuguese title and the Champions League with Porto, and Ronaldinho reached 28 goals with Barcelona.

Henry fell short of all three and, in fact, missed out on the Ballon d'Or for the second year in a row.

Pavel Nedved He was crowned winner in 2003 thanks to his success in Serie A and the Italian Super Cup with Juventus.

Frenchman Henry was aiming for Ballon d'Or glory, but it didn't happen like thatCredit: Getty

Shevchenko, from AC Milan, was champion in 2004Credit: Getty

Juventus star Nedved won it the previous year, but seemed surprised Henry didn't win.Credit: AFP

The Czech Republic icon finished ahead of second-placed Henry, but was surprised to take victory over the Frenchman.

“For me, Thierry Henry is now the best striker in the world,” he said when collecting his award according to The Athletic. “I'm very happy.

“I didn't think I could beat Thierry Henry, Paolo Maldini or Zinedine Zidane and if I had voted, I would have voted for Thierry and the other players on the podium.”

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Henry was nominated for the Ballon d'Or nine times throughout his career, but was unable to win the trophy.

The 2024 winner will be announced on Monday night, with Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr the favorite for the title.

The results of the 2004 Ballon d'Or

1 – Andriy Shevchenko – AC Milan and Ukraine – 175 points

2 – Deco – Porto, Barcelona and Portugal – 139 points

3 – Ronaldinho – Barcelona and Brazil – 133 points

4 – Thierry Henry – Arsenal and France – 80 points

5 – Theodoros Zagorakis – AEK Athens, Bologna and Greece – 44 votes

6 – Adriano – Parma, Inter Milan and Brazil

7 – Pavel Nedved – Juventus and Czech Republic – 23 votes

8 – Wayne Rooney – Everton and England – 22 votes

9= – Ricardo Carvalho, Porto, Chelsea and Portugal, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Manchester United and Holland – 18 votes each

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