Ex-Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has revealed that Gunners legend Thierry Henry was 'disappointed' never to win the Ballon d'Or, particularly in 2001 when he learned that Liverpool forward Michael Owen had been awarded football's greatest individual prize.
For all his success, which included winning four Premier League Golden Boots, Henry was never deemed to be officially the best player in the world.
The Frenchman finished second in the standings in 2003, and then third in 2006, missing out to the likes of Ronaldo, Pavel Nedved, Andriy Shevchenko, Ronaldinho and Fabio Cannavaro, all of whom won when he was at the peak of his powers.
Owen landed the Ballon d'Or at the age of just 22 off the back of Liverpool's 2000/01 'treble' winning season that saw League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup triumphs.
He beat Real Madrid superstar Raul and Bayern Munich's Champions League winning goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who finished second and third respectively, while Henry was 9th in the classification that year.
"I remember the game [France] played in Chile, at Santiago. In the locker room we used for the training sessions, Thierry Henry heard about Michael Owen being announced as Ballon d'or winner - he was very disappointed," Petit is quoted as saying byGoal.com.
Petit also admitted that was the moment he knew that, as a midfielder, he could never win it.
"I understood that this trophy will only concern forwards and strikers. From a starting XI, only three or four players will be concerned by the Ballon d'Or - all of the other players know that they don't have any chance of winning it," he commented.
"The strikers are a little bit selfish and the Ballon d'Or is very important for them."
Current France boss Didier Deschamps recently suggested that Manchester United's world record signing Paul Pogba will struggle to win the Ballon d'Or in his career for precisely that reason.
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