Ballon d'Or: 5 legendary footballers to have won the award multiple times
At the end of another scintillating football season, the attention of critics and fans alike has turned towards individual awards. The Ballon d'Or remains the most prestigious prize on offer for male footballers and there has already been excessive debate about who deserves the award this time around.
Barcelona and Argentina talisman Lionel Messi leads the list for many fans. The Catalan giants experienced an underwhelming 2020-21 club season that saw them win just the Copa del Rey. But Messi was incredible individually and won the Pichichi Award after finishing atop the La Liga scoring charts (he scored 30 goals in 35 league matches. La Pulga then went on to clinch the Top Scorer and Player of the Tournament award at the 2021 Copa America in addition to winning the title itself.
Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski is another fan favorite for the Ballon d'Or. The Polish striker broke Gerd Muller's record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season enroute to Bayern clinching the league title. The Bavarians, however, failed to go deep in the UEFA Champions League and could not win the DFB Pokal either.
If Lewandowski does win the award, it would be his first ever Ballon d'Or. However, if Messi were to win it, the award would be a record seventh win for the Argentine. While winning the Ballon d'Or once is in itself considered a tremendous achievement, securing the award multiple times pays testament to the consistency displayed by those players. So far, only 10 players have won the award more than once.
Here, we take a look at five legendary players who have won the Ballon d'Or more than once. They have been selected based on the number of times they won the award as well as their immense impact on the beautiful game.
#5 Ronaldo Nazario (Two-time Ballon d'Or winner)
One of the greatest strikers to ever grace the beautiful game, Ronaldo Nazario won the Ballon d'Or twice during his stellar career. The Brazilian was immense in 1997, when he represented both Barcelona and Inter Milan. In his sole season with the Catalan giants, Ronaldo scored an astounding 47 goals in just 49 matches and also provided 12 assists. He led Barcelona to a second-place finish in La Liga before departing for Inter Milan after contractual disputes with the Blaugrana board.
Midway through his first season with the Nerazzurri, Ronaldo won the 1997 Ballon d'Or. He went on to record 25 Serie A goals in the 1997-98 season. Ronaldo ended the season with 34 goals in all competitions for Inter Milan as they finished second in the Italian top-flight. Despite missing out on both league titles he contested, the mercurial Brazilian was awarded the Ballon d'Or for a fantastic individual campaign.
Post his 1997 win, Ronaldo struggled with injury problems that massively derailed his career. He experienced a staggered 2001-02 season, where he played just 16 games for Inter and scored seven goals. However, he led Brazil to international glory at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring eight goals including two in the final against Germany.
Ronaldo then joined Real Madrid at the start of the 2002-03 season, but was sidelined by injury until October. Upon returning, the Brazilian found some rhythm as he ended the season with 30 goals from 44 matches for Los Blancos. Real won the La Liga title as well as the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup, which led to Ronaldo winning his second Ballon d'Or.
#4 Franz Beckenbauer (Two-time Ballon d'Or winner)
The only defender on this list, Franz Beckenbauer, also won the Ballon d'Or twice during his illustrious career.
Beckenbauer's first Ballon d'Or came in 1972. The German steered Bayern to first place in the 1971-72 Bundesliga. Apart from marshaling the defense extremely well, Beckenbauer also chipped in with seven goals and eight assists across all competitions. The central defender then went on to lift Euro 1972 with the national team. Beckenbauer kept a clean sheet in the final as Germany swept the USSR 3-0 in the final. These accomplishments were enough for him to win the 1972 Ballon d'Or.
Beckenbauer won his second Ballon d'Or in 1976 despite not scaling the same heights he did in 1972. Still turning out for Bayern, the German could only help the Bavarians to a third-place finish in the 75-76 Bundesliga season. However, Beckenbauer provided the match-winning assist as Bayern secured the European Cup with a 1-0 victory over St. Etienne in the final. He then guided Germany to their second consecutive UEFA Euro final. But Beckenbauer's season ended in disappointment as the Germans were beaten 7-5 on penalties by Czechoslovakia.
Regardless, the centre-back was seen to have had a phenomenal individual season that saw him cement his status as one of the greatest defenders of all time. He also chipped in with seven goals and five assists for Bayern, in addition to leading them to the UEFA Super Cup final. All this saw Beckenbauer lift his second Ballon d'Or in 1976.