At the end of the year, France Football magazine announced the top three nominees for the European Footballer of the Year: first place went to European Championship winner Matthias Sammer, followed closely by Ronaldo in second, and Alan Shearer in third.
As for why it was still called the European Footballer of the Year: when the award was first created in 1956 by France Football, it was only open to European players playing in Europe. That's why many people continued to refer to it that way.
At the press conference before the weekend's league fixtures, a reporter raised the topic of the Ballon d'Or, and O'Neill's expression instantly hardened.
"What do you want me to say?" he shot back. "I don't understand the selection criteria for this award. It's just a group of journalists casting votes as if they represent the entire footballing world. Is that fair? Hardly."
