Top 10 Ballon d’Or Winners of All Time: Legends and Their Records
With Rodri winning the 2024 Ballon d’Or, we wanted to take a look back over the illustrious history of the award and answer the question: who are the top ten Ballon d’Or winners of all time?
What is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or is a prestigious annual football award presented by France Football magazine to the ‘best’ performing player of that year. The award was first presented to Stanley Matthews back in 1956 and has been handed out almost every single year since. For the most part, the Ballon d’Or is decided by votes from football journalists, although there was a brief period when managers and club captains were allowed to vote too. To this day, it is seen by many as the biggest individual honour a player can achieve away from the team side of the game. It is said that the Ballon d’Or is decided based on three key criteria:
- Individual performance
- Team achievements
- Class and fair play
Winners of the Ballon d’Or by year – From Stanley Matthews to Rodri
The Ballon d’Or has been going for over half a century now, so there have been plenty of huge names in the world of football to lift the prestigious golden ball. Let’s take a look back at every single winner from 1956 to the present day.
2024: Spain – Rodri
1956: England – Stanley Matthews
1957: Argentina – Alfredo Di Stéfano
1958: France – Raymond Kopa
1959: Spain – Alfredo Di Stéfano
1960: Spain – Luis Suárez Miramontes
1961: Italy – Omar Sívori
1962: Czech Republic – Josef Masopust
1963: Soviet Union – Lev Yashin
1964: Scotland – Denis Law
1965: Portugal – Eusébio
1966: England – Bobby Charlton
1967: Hungary – Flórián Albert
1968: Northern Ireland – George Best
1969: Italy – Gianni Rivera
1970: Germany – Gerd Müller
1971: Netherlands – Johan Cruyff
1972: Germany – Franz Beckenbauer
1973: Netherlands – Johan Cruyff
1974: Netherlands – Johan Cruyff
1975: Soviet Union – Oleg Blokhin
1976: Germany – Franz Beckenbauer
1977: Denmark – Allan Simonsen
1978: England – Kevin Keegan
1979: England – Kevin Keegan
1980: Germany – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1981: Germany – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1982: Italy – Paolo Rossi
1983: France – Michel Platini
1984: France – Michel Platini
1985: France – Michel Platini
1986: Soviet Union – Igor Belanov
1987: Netherlands – Ruud Gullit
1988: Netherlands – Marco van Basten
1989: Netherlands – Marco van Basten
1990: Germany – Lothar Matthäus
1991: France – Jean-Pierre Papin
1992: Netherlands – Marco van Basten
1993: Italy – Roberto Baggio
1994: Bulgaria – Hristo Stoichkov
1995: Liberia – George Weah
1996: Germany – Matthias Sammer
1997: Brazil – Ronaldo
1998: France – Zinedine Zidane
1999: Brazil – Rivaldo
2000: Portugal – Luís Figo
2001: England – Michael Owen
2002: Brazil – Ronaldo
2003: Czech Republic – Pavel Nedvěd
2004: Ukraine – Andriy Shevchenko
2005: Brazil – Ronaldinho
2006: Italy – Fabio Cannavaro
2007: Brazil – Kaká
2008: Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
2009: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2010: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2011: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2012: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2013: Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
2014: Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
2015: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2016: Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
2017: Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
2018: Croatia – Luka Modrić
2019: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2020: NOT AWARDED
2021: Argentina – Lionel Messi
2022: France – Karim Benzema
2023: Argentina – Lionel Messi
Top Ten Ballon d’Or Winners of All-Time
Without further ado, let’s take a look through the top ten Ballon d’Or winners of all time. This list includes footballers who have lifted the trophy more often than anyone else, as well as players who left the greatest legacy by being named Football of the Year.
10) Luis Suarez
No, not that Luis Suarez. This Spanish midfielder played back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, long before the Uruguayan Luis Suarez was old enough to bite. Suarez played for Deportivo La Coruna, Espana Industrial, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Sampdoria in his illustrious career, and it was with Barca that he famously lifted the Ballon d’Or trophy. At the time, Suarez was the first Spanish player to win the award. Not only that, but he was the first midfielder to win the award too. Even to this day, he remains the only male footballer born in Spain to have won the Ballon d’Or – a rather surprising statistic. Suarez went on to finish second in the rankings twice in 1961 and 1964, as well as a third-place finish in 1965. More than once, he publicly stated his disappointment that he didn’t lift the award in 1964 when he finished behind Denis Law. In his career, Suarez scored an impressive 122 goals in 479 games from midfield.
9) Lev Yashin
As the only goalkeeper to ever win the Ballon d’Or, Lev Yashin simply has to make the list. He was such a trailblazer that we even have the Yashin Award which is handed out to the best goalkeeper of the year during the modern Ballon d’Or ceremony. Playing his entire career for Dynamo Moscow, Yashin is often credited as the best goalkeeper in the history of the sport.
8) Ronaldo
As he is now referred to – The Brazilian Ronaldo. Ronaldo Nazario won the Ballon d’Or trophy in 1997 and again in 2002, with a second and third-place finish in 1996 and 1998 respectively. He is widely touted as one of the greatest strikers in football history, winning the World Cup twice with Brazil in 1994 and 2002, as well as the La Liga title with Real Madrid in 2003. He also won the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 1998 and the Golden Shoe at the next tournament in 2002.
7) Michel Platini
Only two players have won more Ballon d’Or awards than Michel Platini, and there are no awards for guessing who. Platini lifted his awards in 1983, 1984, and 1985, showing just how dominant he was during the early 80s for Juventus and France. Platini won the Serie A title twice in 1984 and 1986, as well as the European Championships with France in 1984. In 2000, he came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote, and Le Roi (The King) is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of all time.
6) Marco Van Basten
Another three-time Ballon d’Or winner, Marco Van Basten was always nailed on to make the list. He lifted his awards in 1988, 1989, and 1992 while playing for AC Milan. He won the Serie A title three times during this period, as well as the European Championship with the Netherlands in 1988. He came 12th in the World Player of the Century list in 2000. The great Pele also named him in his top 100 list of living players in 2004. Van Basten scored an incredible 128 goals in 133 games for Ajax before moving to Milan and netting another 90 in 147 appearances. He also managed 24 goals in 58 games in the orange of the Netherlands.
5) Franz Beckenbauer
Der Kaiser is one of the most iconic names in German football history, thanks to his World Cup win in 1974 and four Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich. However, he also lifted the Footballer of the Year award twice in his career – 1972 and 1976. Not especially known for his goals, with just 60 in 427 appearances for Bayern, he is well-regarded as one of the best and most versatile footballers of all time. Although he started his career in midfield, he eventually became more famous as a centre-back and was one of the first sweepers of the modern game. Beckenbauer also finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 1974 and 1975, and third in 1966.
4) Alfredo Di Stefano
Some may raise their eyebrows at Alfredo Di Stefano being this high on the list but let us remind you he is a two-time Ballon d’Or winner. Not only that, but he is also the only recipient of the Super Ballon d’Or in history, which he was awarded in 1989. It was during his time with Real Madrid that Di Stefano won his two Ballon d’Ors, a club at which he scored 216 goals in 282 games. He also netted 29 times in 37 caps for Argentina and Spain (he switched after he was banned from playing for Argentina). Di Stefano actually missed out on winning the first-ever award (which went to Stanley Matthews) by just three votes! Di Stefano won eight La Liga titles with Madrid. He also won five European Cups, including the two years he lifted the Footballer of the Year award in 1957 and 1959
3) Johan Cruyff
Regarded as the finest Dutch footballer in the history of the game and one of the best players to ever grace the pitch, Johan Cruyff lifted the Ballon d’Or an impressive three times in his career. Winning in 1971, 1973, and 1974 for Ajax and Barcelona, the early 70s was undoubtedly the era of Cruyff. Considering he scored 27 goals and 33 goals for Ajax in the 1970/71 and 1971/72 seasons respectively, as well as another 24 and 14 for Barcelona between 1973 and 1975, you can certainly see why he was so well-decorated. Cruyff won eight Eredivisie titles and one La Liga trophy in his career before going on to become a fine manager.
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo won’t be happy to finish in second place, the serial winner that he is. His five Ballon d’Or titles are head and shoulders above 99.99% of the rest of the footballing world, but still not enough to finish first on our list. Not to mention the fact that Cristiano finished second in the Ballon d’Or rankings six times in his career, as well as finishing third in 2019. In 2013, Ronaldo finally ended a four-year winning streak for Lionel Messi, scoring 69 goals in 59 games to lift his second Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo won his first award in the colours of Manchester United, followed by four more in the iconic Galactico white of Real Madrid. Ronaldo has made it clear throughout his career that he wants to win more Ballon d’Or awards than his arch-rival Messi, but it looks like he is going to fall short of that aim. One thing is for certain though, Cristiano Ronaldo definitely thinks Cristiano Ronaldo is number one.
1) Lionel Messi
Who else could we name at the top of our list other than the GOAT himself – Lionel Messi? The Argentine wizard lifted the Ballon d’Or award a remarkable eight times throughout the peak of his career, most recently winning in 2023. Messi won six awards in the colours of Barcelona (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019), one as a PSG player in 2021 and one as an Inter Miami player in 2023 – although the latter was awarded for his World Cup triumph. Let us remind you of the kind of numbers Messi was putting up for some of these victories. In 2012, he scored a jaw-dropping 91 goals in the calendar year, shattering Gert Muller’s record of 85. No wonder he lifted four Ballon d’Ors in a row! The biggest question that remains is: will anyone ever beat that tally?
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or awards in history with eight. The next highest is Cristiano Ronaldo with five.
What is the Super Ballon d’Or?
The Super Ballon d’Or was only ever awarded once in 1989. It was designed to celebrate the best player of the best three decades and was handed to Alfredo Di Stefano. The trophy itself was auctioned off by his children in 2021 for £187,000. There are rumours we could see another Super Ballon d’Or in 2029.
Who is the oldest Ballon d’Or winner?
Stanley Matthews is the oldest winner of the Ballon d’Or, and also the first-ever recipient. He was 41 years, 10 months, and 17 days old when he won.
Who is the youngest Ballon d’Or winner?
Ronaldo is the youngest-ever winner of the Ballon d’Or. The Brazilian striker was just 21 years and 95 days old when he won the award.
Did you know? – Only one goalkeeper has ever won the Ballon d’Or, namely Lev Yashin. That is why we now have the Yashin Trophy, which is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the year.
Did you know? – George Weah is the only African player to ever win the Ballon d’Or.
Last updated: 11.12.2024
