France Football have sparked debate across social media by revealing their all-time best Ballon d’Or ‘Dream Team’.
The architects of football’s most prestigious annual individual honour collated the votes of 140 journalists from across the globe to elect a greatest XI featuring some of the most celebrated talents in the history of the sport.
The identities of those that made the team were revealed in a series of staggered announcements on Monday, with France Football seeking to replicate the sort of excitement usually associated with the main Ballon d’Or prize, which sadly will not be given in 2020 due to the "lack of a sufficiently level playing field" caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The ‘Dream Team’ were selected in a 3-4-3 formation, with Russian great Lev Yashin - who remains the only goalkeeper ever to have won the Ballon d’Or award - picked between the posts.
German legend Franz Beckenbauer anchors a three-man defence also containing former Italy and AC Milan stalwart Paolo Maldini and Brazil’s most-capped player Cafu.
The late Diego Maradona and great rival Pele are pushed out to the flanks, with Spain and Barcelona icon Xavi partnering another German World Cup hero in Lothar Matthaus in the middle of the park.
The front three is truly formidable and one that no defender would ever wish to face, with the mighty pair of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi - who have 11 Ballon d’Ors between them - joined by ‘O Fenomeno’ Ronaldo Nazario.
France Football also revealed second and third-team squads, with the back-up XI comprised of Gianluigi Buffon, Carlos Alberto, Franco Baresi, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Alfredo Di Stefano, Frank Rijkaard, Andrea Pirlo, Ronaldinho, Johan Cruyff and Garrincha.
Making the cut for the third team are Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, Sergio Ramos, Paul Breitner, Didi, Johan Neeskens, Andres Iniesta, Michel Platini, Thierry Henry, Marco van Basten and George Best.
