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| Top 10 Ballon d'Or winners list of all time |
Top 10 Ballon d'Or winners
The concept of honoring the best European player annually originated with a football magazine, leading to the establishment of the Ballon d'Or. Initially, the award was limited to players from the European continent. However, in 1995, a pivotal change expanded eligibility to all players participating in European clubs. Subsequently, in 2007, another amendment broadened the scope further, making the Ballon d'Or accessible to players globally, irrespective of their continent of origin.
What are the criteria for winning the Ballon d'Or?
- Explore the prerequisites for clinching the Ballon d'Or:
- Criteria: Evaluate the player's individual and team performance throughout the year. This entails scrutinizing the titles secured and milestones achieved, along with individual feats like emerging as the top scorer in a championship.
- Criteria: Assess talent and adherence to Fair Play. The Ballon d'Or tends to favor skillful players, and the player's conduct and sportsmanship on the field are pivotal. Aggressive and hostile behavior diminishes the likelihood of winning.
- Criteria: Consider the player's overall career. Despite the award focusing on a single year, the player's entire career holds significance. This criterion prioritizes players who sustain a high level of performance over an extended period.
Top 10 Ballon d'Or winners of all time
Top 10 Ballon d'Or winners 2024, List of the Ballon d'Or Winners:
- Lionel Messi.
- Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Michel Platini.
- Johan Cruyff.
- Marco van Basten.
- Franz Beckenbauer.
- Ronaldo Lima.
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
- Kevin Keegan.
- Alfredo Di Stefano.
10- Alfredo Di Stefano (twice)
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| Alfredo Di Stefano |
Let Cristiano Ronaldo achieve as many titles and numbers as he wants, Alfredo Di Stefano will always be our first legend." This is how a large part of Real Madrid fans still see the legend Di Stefano, the owner of the Ballon d'Or on two occasions (1957, 1959).
The Argentine player is undoubtedly one of the top 10 players in football history due to his versatility and ability to play in multiple positions.
9- Kevin Keegan (twice)
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| Kevin Keegan |
The great English player made everyone in England proud in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he played for Scunthorpe United and then Liverpool. Kevin Keegan's move to Hamburg in Germany was a significant milestone in his career as he won the Ballon d'Or award twice with the team in 1978 and 1980.
8- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (twice)
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| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge |
The last Bayern Munich players who managed to win the Ballon d'Or twice in a row in 1981 and 1982.
With Germany, Rummenigge won the UEFA European Championship in 1980, but luck was off his side in the World Cup despite reaching the finals twice in the 1982 and 1986 editions. As for club level, the German star excelled with Bayern Munich, scoring 217 goals out of only 310 matches (an excellent average).
He also won the UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich in 1975 and 1976, the German League in 1980 and 1981, and the German Cup in 1982 and 1984.
7- Ronaldo Lima (twice)
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| Ronaldo Lima |
The youngest player in history to win the Best Player of the World Award in 1996 and the Golden Ball Award in 1997, both at the age of twenty and twenty-one, respectively.
Ronaldo Phenomenon is a football phenomenon that is said to have left all legends behind if it weren't for frequent injuries.
Dribbling is the easiest thing Lima can do, as every defender facing him should be afraid and recite spells when they see that human locomotive coming from afar.
6- Franz Beckenbauer (twice)
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| Franz Beckenbauer |
Emperor Franz Beckenbauer was the best player in Germany's history and a true engineer of the defense line that he controlled smoothly. He gained fame in the last century with Bayern Munich and the West German national team, winning all the titles that any football player dreams of winning. This helped him achieve the Ballon d'Or twice in 1972 and 1976, despite his position as a libero defender. He possesses a great ability to pass and shoot accurately from a distance.
5- Marco van Basten
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| Marco van Basten |
If Johan Cruyff is the best player in the history of the Netherlands, then Marco van Basten comes second without any dispute. The Dutch striker, who retired from playing football at the age of 28, could have possibly surpassed Cruyff in his achievements. Van Basten was known for having the best final touch in the world, as he placed the ball in the net artistically, just like that famous goal he scored against the Soviet Union in the 1988 European Championship, where he became the top scorer with 5 goals.
4-Johan Cruyff (3 times)
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| Johan Cruyff |
The legendary Dutch star and innovator of total football won 3 Ballon d'Or awards when he played for Ajax Amsterdam and Barcelona in 1971, 1973, and 1974. He was the first player in history to achieve this prestigious award three times.
Cruyff was a slender player in an era dominated by physically imposing defenders, but with his immense speed and great dribbling ability, he was often able to surpass them.
Barcelona owes a debt of gratitude to the Dutch legend, who established them on the global stage when he led them to their first Champions League titles in 1992 as a coach, along with 10 other titles, not to mention his achievements as a player in terms of championships and cups.
3- Michel Platini (3 times)
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| Michel Platini |
1983-1984-1985 Regardless of the scandals that followed Michel Platini as the President of the Union of European Football Associations, he is considered one of the best players in football in general and in the 1980s in particular. He led the French national team to win the European Nations Cup three consecutive times, in 1984 when he scored 9 goals, and in all the Euro matches at that time, which is a unique record that no player has been able to break until today. He also won the bronze medal in the 1986 World Cup and finished fourth in the 1982 World Cup.
2- Cristiano Ronaldo (5 times)
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| Cristiano Ronaldo |
2008-2013-2014-2016-2017 5 golden balls and 6 times he finished second, the only player who could compete with Messi, and it cannot be determined who is better than them as both players shared the Ballon d'Or award for 10 years before Luka Modric broke this achievement and won the award in 2018.
Ronaldo won his first golden ball in 2008 when he was playing for Manchester United. Still, he had to wait for another 4 years to win it again after Messi's absolute dominance over the award because Ronaldo is a symbol of determination and a lover of challenges.
1- Lionel Messi
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| Lionel Messi |
How many Ballon d'Or awards has Lionel Messi received in his career so far? The Barcelona legend has a countless number of individual awards, the most important of them being the Ballon d'Or. Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or award on 8 previous occasions, the first of which was in 2009, then he repeated the achievement for three consecutive years in 2010, 2011, and 2012, then in 2015, 2019, and finally in 2021, before winning the title in 2023.
