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10 Players With Most Ballon d’Or Awards In History

The Ballon d’Or, also known as the Golden Ball, is regarded as the most prestigious individual award in football. Some of the greatest players in the world have won this award, but even most of them have won just one, which shows how prestigious this award is. However, some players have won multiple Ballon d’Or awards, with Lionel Messi having won the award an astonishing eight times. This article talks about the 10 players with the most Ballon d’Or awards in history.

Players With Most Ballon d’Or Trophies

4. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – 2 Golden Balls

Many people don’t know that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the Ballon D’Or twice. pic.twitter.com/hAN8gPV9xl

— kandesbunzler 👑🇺🇦 (@trequartista38) July 25, 2020

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge is a German professional footballer who played as a forward while representing Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Servette alongside the German men’s national football team. He won two Golden Balls in his career while coming in second place once. Rummenigge came second in the 1979 Ballon d’Or, but he managed to win the award consecutive years after that, winning the 1980 and 1980 Ballon d’Or awards.

4. Kevin Keegan – 2 Golden Balls

Credit: HSV.de

Kevin Keegan is another player who, like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, managed to get his hands on the Ballon d’Or award after narrowly missing out first and finishing in second place. Keegan was an English forward who played football from 1968 to 1985. He finished second in the Golden Ball rankings in 1977, narrowly losing to Allan Simonsen. However, Keegan got his own chance to shine very soon. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1978 and 1979, ending his professional career having won two Golden Balls during his career.

4. Alfredo Di Stefano – 2 Golden Balls

Alfredo Di Stefano is a Spanish professional footballer who made a name for himself as a striker while playing for La Liga side Real Madrid. Di Stefano played for a series of clubs during his career, including River Plate, Huracan, Millonarios, Real Madrid, and Espanyol. He ended his professional career, having scored 480 goals across 669 appearances. Alfredo Di Stefano managed to get his hands on the 1957 and 1959 Ballon d’Or awards for his brilliant performances while playing for Real Madrid.

4. Ronaldo Nazario – 2 Golden Balls

25 years ago today Ronaldo Nazario won his 1st Ballon d’Or.

56 goals in 66 games in 1997. Imagine his career without injuries. pic.twitter.com/Govreb7yAj

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) December 23, 2022

Ronaldo Nazario is a Brazilian professional footballer who is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. The Brazilian legend represented a series of prestigious clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and AC Milan. Ronaldo also won two FIFA World Cup trophies with his country, getting his hands on the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. The Brazilian striker won two Ballon d’Or awards throughout his career, winning the prestigious individual award in 1997 and 2002, beating the likes of Zinedine Zidane, Roberto Carlos, and Oliver Kahn.

4. Franz Beckenbauer – 2 Golden Balls

Credit: Telegrafi

Franz Beckenbauer is the fifth and the last person on this list to have won two Ballon d’Or awards in his career. The German professional footballer managed to do so in 1972 and 1976. The world-class defender is one of the very few defenders who have managed to get their hands on the prestigious Golden Ball. Franz Beckenbauer spent the majority of his career representing Bayern Munich, and it was while playing for them that he managed to win both of his Ballon d’Or awards.

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3. Marco van Basten – 3 Golden Balls

Marco van Basten is a Dutch professional footballer who played as a striker. He spent his entire career while representing just two teams, Eredivisie side Ajax and Serie A side AC Milan. While he was very good for Ajax as well, he won all three of his Ballon d’Or awards while playing for AC Milan. Marco van Basten ended up getting his hands on the prestigious award in 1988, 1989, and 1992. Apart from all the trophies he won with AC Milan, he also guided the Dutch national football team to the UEFA European Championship in 1988.

3. Johan Cruyff – 3 Golden Balls

The first man to win the Ballon d’Or three times.
World Cup silver medalist with a “small nation” like the Netherlands.
Player of the tournament with his national team.
3-peat CL with Ajax.
Not a poacher.
A Lionel Messi fan.

Johan Cruyff would’ve be 77 today. pic.twitter.com/LuKjXu76P1

— DopeFutImage (@FutDope) April 25, 2024

Johan Cruyff is regarded as one of the best footballers of all time and is credited with completely revolutionising the game. The Dutch star spent the majority of his career while representing Ajax and Barcelona. He won three Golden Balls during his career, all of them coming while playing for Barcelona. He almost won the award in consecutive years, winning the Ballon d’Or award in 1971, 1973, and 1974.

3. Michel Platini – 3 Golden Balls

Credit: All About Football

Michel Platini is the third and last person on this list, having won three Ballon d’Or awards in his career. The French attacking midfielder won all of his Golden Balls in consecutive years, getting his hands on the 1983, 1984, and 1985 Ballon d’Or awards. He represented three teams in his career: Nancy, Saint-Etienne, and Juventus. All of his Golden Balls came while he represented the Serie A side of Juventus.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo – 5 Golden Balls

⚽️✨ Throwback in 2014 when Cristiano Ronaldo won his 3rd Ballon d’Or! #ballondor pic.twitter.com/alZH2uOTSZ

— Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) October 16, 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo is regarded as one of the best players in history. The Portuguese will go down in history as the best goal-scorer of all time and would have definitely ended his career with the most Ballon d’Or awards if not for Lionel Messi. Ronaldo won the Golden Ball in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. His first award came while playing for Manchester United, while all four of his Ballon d’Or awards came while representing the La Liga side of Real Madrid. While Ronaldo had taken the lead over Messi in the number of Golden balls, his last Ballon d’Or came in 2017, and Messi has now overtaken him.

1. Lionel Messi – 8 Golden Balls

Lionel Messi has won the most number of Ballon d’Or awards in history. While most people have one, two, or three Golden Balls, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are in a league of their own. However, even Ronaldo’s five Ballon d’Or awards are not comparable to Lionel Messi’s astonishing eight Golden Balls. He won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023. The Argentine star won six of his eight Ballon d’Or awards while representing Barcelona, whereas his final two awards came after he transferred to Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain.

For more news articles and updates on the Golden Ball, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.

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