Every Men's World Cup Golden Ball winner ranked

Though few people alive actually saw the 1958 World Cup, it's hard to view Didi as the best choice for the Golden Ball here. He only scored one goal, and while goals aren't everything, Pele had six, including three in the semis and two in the finals. Plus, Just Fontaine scored a whopping 13 goals, which is still a World Cup record.

FIFA made changes to the World Cup after 1990 because people by and large thought this World Cup stunk. It was the lowest-scoring World Cup, but Schillaci led the way with six goals for Italy. He's not a name soccer fans remember, as this was his only World Cup, and he spent most of his career in the lower levels of Italy and Japan.

Sir Robert Charlton had a great career with Manchester United and scored 49 goals with England over 106 appearances. He was a fantastic player, but he didn't have the best World Cup in 1966. Charlton scored three goals, though two of them were against Portugal in the semis. However, Portugal's Eusebio, a true all-time great, had nine goals in leading his team to third, and even Charlton's teammate Geoff Hurst may have been a better choice. He had three goals in the final match alone in leading England to victory.

Forlan's win is notable because Uruguay only finished fourth in the 2010 World Cup. He had a fine tournament, but three other players tied him with five goals, and he only had one assist. This was something of a last hurrah for Forlan, whose domestic career dried up not long after this as well. That does mean he doesn't know how to go out on top, as Forlan recently won the championship in the Hong Kong Premier League. 

Garrincha was an amazing player, arguably better than a couple players ranked higher on this list. The fact he played most of his domestic career in Brazil can make it hard to tell. He was a deserving Golden Ball winner in 1962, but his performance didn't really stand out. Nobody had more than four goals, and six different players managed that.

When the 1978 World Cup began, Kempes had been killing it with Valencia for a couple seasons. He was actually the only European-based player on Argentina's squad in 1978. Kempes led Argentina to victory with a tourney-leading six goals, including the winner in the finals.

Ronaldo was a pure goal scorer, and few were his equal during his career. In addition to playing for teams like Real Madrid, for a period of time Ronaldo held the record for the most career World Cup goals. Weirdly, though Brazil won the Cup in 1994 and 2002, it's 1998 when he won his Golden Ball. He had four goals, and three players had more. Since scoring was Ronaldo's thing, that doesn't feel all that impressive.

It's hard to decide where to put a goalie in a list like this, especially since his team didn't win. In 2002, Kahn only allowed three goals for Germany, two of which came in the finale against Brazil. He was definitely impressive and had a great career, but as the only goalie to ever win a Golden Ball, Kahn is a bit of an odd duck.

Romario claims to have scored 1,000 goals in his career, but it's a very generous interpretation. However, don't get bogged down in that when championing the Brazilian's international career. Both Romario and Italy's Roberto Baggio scored five goals during the 1994 World Cup. In the finals, Romario made his penalty kick, and Baggio didn't. That literally may have decided who won the Golden Ball that year.

In 1982, Rossi won both the Golden Ball and the Ballon d'Or as the best player in all of soccer for that year. He scored six goals to also win the Golden Boot in leading Italy to victory. Notably, Rossi actually won the Silver Ball in 1978, meaning he came incredibly close to winning back-to-back Golden Balls.

Yes, the lingering image of the 2006 World Cup is Zidane headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. Before that, though, he had a fantastic tournament. Having already established himself as one of the best of his generation, he won a Ballon d'Or in 1998 when France won the World Cup, patrolling the midfield with gusto while adding three goals as well. Pivotal red card aside, Zidane was outstanding in 2006.

There are many who consider Cruyff the best player never to win the World Cup, but at least he has a Golden Ball to his name. Cruyff and the Netherlands were changing the way soccer was played in the '70s, and that culminated in the 1974 World Cup. Though Holland finished second, Cruyff still made a lasting impression. He did not lead the Netherlands in goals, but anybody who watched that team at the time knew who the engine was.

Maradona is a controversial figure on and off the pitch, but his status as one of the five best players of all time is rarely debated. He scored five goals in the 1986 World Cup, which includes his infamous "Hand of God" goal. However, in that same game against England he also scored what is known as "The Goal of the Century." That's the goal that is a stark reminder of who the king of soccer was in the '80s.

Argentina finished at the runner-up to Germany in 2014, and a German player, Thomas Muller, scored more goals (five) than Messi had (four). That being said, anybody who watched that World Cup knows the truth: Messi carried Argentina to the finals. He was the team. Messi has had an incredible career, including arguably the best domestic career of all time, and it would take a truly special player to finish above him on this list.

Pele is that truly special player. Frankly, it feels odd that he only won one Golden Ball, but he won a Silver Ball in 1958 (and got injured in 1962). Many consider the 1970 Brazil team the best ever, and admittedly it feels like there was a smidgen of "lifetime achievement" to this given that this was his last World Cup. He was still great, though, and he's still Pele. Nobody else could finish on top.