Ball IQPlayers With the Most Ballon d'Or Awards
10 entries · verified 2026-07-20 · free · hand-checked by Ball IQ
The Ballon d'Or has gone to the best player in the world (in Europe, until 2007) every year since 1956. This page ranks the players who have won it more than once — the small club of true greats who dominated their eras.
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In which year did Ronaldo (R9) win his first Ballon d'Or?
1997 — aged just 21 and playing for Inter Milan. He won it again in 2002 after leading Brazil to World Cup glory.
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Ronaldo scored his first international goal in which year — becoming one of the youngest scorers for Portugal?
Ronaldo scored his first Portugal goal aged 19 against Greece at Euro 2004, though Portugal lost that opener and the final to the same side.
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Who was the first player to win the Ballon d'Or three times in a row?
Michel Platini won it in 1983, 1984 and 1985 while at Juventus — the first man to win three in a row, a record Messi later broke with four straight (2009-2012).
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored his international debut goal for Portugal against which country in 2004?
He scored a late header in Portugal's opening match of Euro 2004, a 2-1 defeat in Porto — and Greece went on to stun the hosts again in the final in Lisbon.
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Ronaldo (R9) won the Copa del Rey in 1997, during his single season at which Spanish club?
In his lone 1996-97 season at Barcelona, Ronaldo scored 47 goals in all competitions and won the Copa del Rey and Cup Winners' Cup — he then made his World Cup playing debut at France 98, having been an unused squad member in 1994.
| Rank | Player | Ballon d'Ors | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 8 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 |
| 3 | Johan Cruyff | 3 | 1971, 1973, 1974 |
| 3 | Marco van Basten | 3 | 1988, 1989, 1992 |
| 3 | Michel Platini | 3 | 1983, 1984, 1985 |
| 6 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | 2 | 1957, 1959 |
| 6 | Franz Beckenbauer | 2 | 1972, 1976 |
| 6 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | 2 | 1980, 1981 |
| 6 | Kevin Keegan | 2 | 1978, 1979 |
| 6 | Ronaldo | 2 | 1997, 2002 |
Lionel Messi stands alone at the top with a record eight, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo on five. Behind that modern duopoly sit three of the game's all-time icons — Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten — each a three-time winner.
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- Every Ballon d'Or Winner (1956–2025) 70 entries