The wait to know the name of the Ballon d’Or 2023 winner is almost over. The award, given by the France Football magazine, is one of the most prestigious individual awards in World football. Some of the biggest names of world football have graced the Ballon d’Or stage. However, evidently, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have dominated the winner lists winning five and record seven times respectively. Let’s take a look at ALL the names to win this prestigious award and the number of times they have won it.
Lionel Messi (7) – Before Messi and Ronaldo’s era, the most number of Ballon d’Or wins by a single footballer was three. Messi and Ronaldo had good rivalry among themselves for Ballon d’Or for well over a decade. However, Messi has emerged as the leader with seven Ballon d’Ors so far. The Argentine has won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2022. He has also finished as the runners-up on five different occasions. The number of times Messi has finished in the top 2 for this award underlines how influential he has been in world football for well over a decade.
Cristiano Ronaldo (5) – Cristiano Ronaldo has been another regular name in the Ballon d’Or list since 2008. Some believe if Ronaldo existed in any other era, he would win many more Ballon d’Ors. The Portuguese magnifico has won this award five times, just two less than Lionel Messi. Ronaldo won the award on 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017. He has also finished second behind the winner another six times.
Michel Platini (3) – French Midfielder Michel Platini won the Ballon d’Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985. A prolific player, Platini also came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote.
Johan Cruyff (3) – Johan Cruyff on the other hand is considered as the greatest Dutch footballer of all time. The proponent of the football philosophy known as Total Football had won the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973, and 1974.
Marco van Basten (3) – Another Dutch footballer to make an impression on the Ballon d’Or stage was Marco van Basten. The forward won the award in three different occasions, in 1988, 1989 and 1992.
Two time winners
Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo Nazario, Alfredo Di Stefano, Kevin Keegan, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
One-time winners
Luis Suarez (Spanish), Eusebio, Stanley Matthews Bobby Charlton, Raymond Kopa, Gerd Muller, Ronaldinho, Fabio Cannavaro, Zinedine Zidane, Gianni Rivera, George Weah, Ruud Gullit, Rivaldo, Luis Figo, Michael Owen, Lothar Matthaus, Roberto Baggio, Florian Albert, Igor Belanov, Hristo Stoichkov, George Best, Kaka, Oleg Blokhin, Pavel Nedved, Jean-Pierre Papin, Andriy Shevchenko, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Lev Yashin, Josef Masopust, Omar Sivori
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