He would end the year as Ballon d’Or winner, beating Juventus team-mate Zbigniev Boniek of Poland and France’s Alain Giresse. How inextricably Champions League success is linked to the Ballon d’Or winner is frustrating. Dalglish was Liverpool’s talisman throughout that and yet his best Ballon d’Or ranking was second behind Michel Platini in 1983. The Ballon d’Or is the biggest of them all and even features in contract clauses when high-profile players move clubs. But does the Ballon d’Or still really matter?