One for your pub quiz: Remember the Ballon d’Or winner who signed for Charlton Athletic?

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Any guess of the Ballon d’Or winner who signed for Charlton… and still finished third in the voting for the award?

That’s right, you nerds at the back – it’s Allan Simonsen, who Liverpool fans of a certain age may remember. Simonsen’s strike against Liverpool in the 1977 European Cup Final capped off a standout year for the 5ft 5in Borussia Monchengladbach striker.

While the Foals ultimately fell short, they still had the Bundesliga title to celebrate, courtesy of the goals and guile of their great Dane. Incredibly, five years later and poised to turn 30, Simonsen was playing in the English Second Division.

Allan Simonsen in action for the Addicks (Image credit: Getty Images)

After netting the winner in the 1979 UEFA Cup Final, he had moved to Barcelona, where his goals helped to clinch a Copa del Rey and the 1982 Cup Winners’ Cup. In the latter final, Simonsen became the only footballer in history to score in the showpieces of the European Cup, UEFA Cup and Cup Winners’ Cup, but he found himself exiting Catalonia five months on.

Enraged by Barça’s decision to sign Diego Maradona – with Bernd Schuster already at the club and only two foreigners allowed in a La Liga starting line-up – he was demoted to backup. Both Real Madrid and Tottenham displayed interest, but Charlton Athletic landed the superstar for £324,000 – double the fee the Blaugrana had forked out three years earlier.

Allan Simonsen won the Ballon d’Or in 1977 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Claiming he wanted to, er, “try something new”, Simonsen set about tormenting second-tier defences, scoring nine goals in 16 appearances. The Addicks soon realised they couldn’t afford his massive wages and flogged him to Danish outfit Vejle.

Yes, you read that correctly at the top. He still finished third in the 1983 Ballon d’Or voting. Would anything like this ever happen again?

More Ballon d’Or stories

FFT editor James Andrew has argued why Erling Haaland should have won the 2023 award, while deputy editor Matthew Ketchell has laid out why Messi is more deserving. 

Pep Guardiola has weighed in on the debate – meanwhile, these are the biggest robberies in Ballon d’Or history.

This is how the Ballon d’Or 2023 ceremony unfolded as it happened.

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Ed is a staff writer at FourFourTwo, working across the magazine and website. A German speaker, he’s been working as a football reporter in Berlin since 2015, predominantly covering the Bundesliga and Germany’s national team. Favourite FFT features include an exclusive interview with Jude Bellingham following the youngster’s move to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, a history of the Berlin Derby since the fall of the Wall and a celebration of Kevin Keegan’s playing career.

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