Winning a Ballon d’Or is one of the achievements every footballer dreams of. It is one of the prestigious awards that is given to a footballer based on their performance throughout the football season. Every footballer dreams of winning the award at least once in their football career. Well, there are players who have won the award once in their football career, and there are some who have won it several times. So let’s not wait any longer and take a look at every Ballon d’Or winner and know which player has won the most Ballon d’Or.
Every Ballon d’Or Winner
The below list contains every footballer who has won the Ballon d’Or from 1956 to the present.
From 1956 to 1960
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | England | Blackpool |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Argentina | Real Madrid |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | France | Real Madrid |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Argentina | Real Madrid |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez | Spain | Barcelona |
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From 1961 to 1970
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 1961 | Omar Sivori | Italy | Juventus |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Prague |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Moscow |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Scotland | Manchester United |
| 1965 | Eusébio | Portugal | Benfica |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | England | Manchester United |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary | Ferencv rosi TC |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy | Milan |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
From 1971 to 1980
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Ajax |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia M’nchengladbach |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
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From 1981 to 1990
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Juventus |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Internazionale |
From 1991 to 2000
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France | Marseille |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | Juventus |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria | Barcelona |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia | Milan |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Internazionale |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France | Juventus |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 2000 | Luís Figo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
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From 2001 to 2010
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | England | Liverpool |
| 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Real Madrid |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czechia | Juventus |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | Milan |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Real Madrid |
| 2007 | Kaka | Brazil | Milan |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Manchester United |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
From 2011 to present
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | Croatia | Real Madrid |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2020 | No winner due to Covid-19 | ||
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Paris Saint-Germain F.C. |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid |
| 2023 | ? | ? | ? |
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Most Ballon d’Or winner: Players with the Most Ballon d’Or
| Times won | Players | Years |
| 7 | Lionel Messi | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 |
| 3 | Johan Cruyff | 1971, 1973, 1974 |
| 3 | Michel Platini | 1983, 1984, 1985 |
| 3 | Marco Van Basten | 1988, 1989, 1992 |
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The Argentine footballer Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or seven times, which is the most by any player in football history. He won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 when he was just 22 years old. He didn’t stop there and won the award for four consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012). After a few years, he won the award at regular intervals, i.e., in 2015, 2019, and 2021.
The second player on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo, with five Ballon d’Ors. He won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017.
For third place, there is a tie between three players with three Ballon d’Ors. Johan Cruyff won the award in 1971, 1973, and 1974. Michel Platini won the award in 1983, 1984, and 1985. Marco Van Basten won the award in 1988, 1989, and 1992.
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