The days of Celtic players being in the conversation for Ballon D’Or nominations are seemingly over.
Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers was working with Luis Suarez when he ranked 19th for the 2013 competition.
But as far as Celtic players go, Shunsuke Nakamura was the last to earn a nomination whilst in Hoops back in 2007. Almost 20 years on, this seems unthinkable now.
After Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions won the European Cup in 1967, Jimmy Johnstone ranked third, behind Bobby Charlton and winner Florian Albert.
And with Scott McTominay placing 18th in the 2025 ranking, a certain former Rangers manager and Ballon D’Or nominee was clear in how he compares with the greats of the past.
Ally McCoist on how Scott McTominay compares with Jimmy Johnstone
Ally McCoist will remember watching Johnstone and Kenny Dalglish for both Celtic and Scotland.
So when given the question by Jeff Stelling on whether McTominay can compare with greats such as the two, he was decently equipped to answer.
On Talksport Breakfast, Stelling suggested that McTominay could go down as one of the best Scotland players of all time – but McCoist had his own view.
He said: “All time’s a heck of a shout, dear me. You think of Jimmy Johnstone, Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law… the list goes on. The answer’s no, it is.
“There’s nobody that loves Scott McTominay or Billy Gilmour as much as me. He’s been part of a side that brought us pride back as a country. Definitely done that, there’s no doubt about it.
“We’re now qualifying for major tournaments, which we didn’t do for the best part of 25-30 years. So we’re now doing that.
“He had a phenomenal year last year, absolutely fantastic, and I’m loving what he’s doing and I’m loving watching him. But a long, long way to go before he’s mentioned in the same breath as those players I’ve mentioned.”
What other Celtic players have been nominated for the Ballon D’Or?
Johnstone wasn’t the only Lion to be nominated for the award in both 1967 and 1968 – Tommy Gemmell was put forward for both, also.
Dalglish ranked fifth in his final year at Celtic. Seven years later, Paul McStay was nominated at the age of just 19, and ranked 18th.
Performances for club and country helped Pat Bonner to an unlikely nomination in 1989, where he edged out the likes of Ronald Koeman and Paolo Maldini.
Along with Nakamura in the 2000s, Henrik Larsson received two nominations during his time at Celtic, in 2001 and 2003. He finished 12th in the latter.