5 Players to have won the most Ballon d'Or awards
The Ballon d'Or, also known as the "Golden Ball" is an annual football award awarded by France Football.
Originally an award exclusively for European players, in 1995 the Ballon d'Or was expanded to include all players from any origin who are active at European clubs. In 2007, the Ballon d'Or became a global award, eligible for all professional footballers plying their trade anywhere around the world.
However, no player from a non-European club has managed to win the award.
A total of 44 different players from 19 different nations (which includes 3 non-European nations in Brazil, Argentina, and Liberia) have won the coveted award since its inaugural edition in 1956. 5 different players from Germany have won the Ballon d'Or which is the most number of players from any country to have won the award.
George Weah (1995) is the first of 7 non-European players to have won the Ballon d'Or while Lev Yashin (1963) is the only goalkeeper to win the award.
Eight players (Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká) have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or during their careers, with Kaká being the most recent player do so in 2007.
Players from Germany, Netherlands, and Portugal have won the most Ballon d'Or awards (7 apiece) while players from Real Madrid and Barcelona have won the award on most occasions (11 apiece). Let us have a look at the players to have won the most Ballon d'Or awards.
Johan Cruyff (3-time winner)
Johan Cruyff became the first Dutchman to win the Ballon d'Or when he did so in 1971 after a stellar season with Ajax in 1970-71 which saw the Eredivise club win the European Cup.
After winning a third-straight European Cup and a win in the Eredivisie, Cruyff moved from Ajax to Barcelona in the summer of 1973 and won his second Ballon d'Or title that year to become the first player to win multiple Ballon d'Or titles.
The legendary Dutchman led his new club to a thumping 5-0 win at the home of their arch-rivals Real Madrid and a first Liga title in 14 years, to win the 1974 Ballon d'Or.
In the process, Cruyff became the first player to win the prestigious award in back-to-back years and become the first three-time winner of the Ballon d'Or.
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