Top 10 Clubs With the Most Ballon d’Or Winners

Ballon d’Or is an annual award given to the best football players of the year by French News Magazine, “France Football”. The award, which is over 5 decades old, has been presented to various football players at different stages, from Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1959 to Lionel Messi in 2021.

The award has been presented year-in-year-out with 2020 being the only exception. This is because the year was bedeviled by the coronavirus pandemic, cutting the European soccer season short. Over 30 footballers have been recipients of the award, with some of them bagging the golden ball as much as ten times.

From Real Madrid’s Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1957 and 1959 to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in 2019 and 2021, many football clubs have had the honor of holding the Ballon d’Or award. In this article, however, RNN will highlight the top 10 football clubs with the most Ballon d’Or winners. Let’s dive right into it.

10. Ajax

Ballon d’Or Wins- 1

Ajax is only one of the many football clubs with just one Ballon d’Or win over the years. The dutch professional club won the award in 1971 when the late footballer, Johan Cruyff bagged the win. That was the same season he led the club to win the European Champions League. Cruyff scored 17 goals and picked up seven assists in 22 games that season. The award was well-deserved.

9. Dynamo Kyiv

Ballon d’Or Wins- 2

With Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov bagging the award in 1975 and 1986 respectively, Dynamo Kyiv boasts of two Ballon d’Or wins. Blokhin won the award as a result of his formidable impact in the 1974-1975 season. He led the Ukrainian professional club to win the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in that season, scoring 28 goals in 42 appearances.

Belanov on the other hand, bagged the award having scored 14 goals in 32 appearances in the 1986 season.

8. Inter Milan

Ballon d’Or Wins- 2

Inter Milan is yet another club on the top 10 list of Ballon d’Or winners where clubs are concerned. The Italian professional football club has equally won the Ballon d’Or award twice. The club is only referred to as “Inter Milan” in English-speaking countries; it is known as “Internazionale” or simply “Inter” in Italy and Italian-speaking countries.

Lothar Matthäus and Ronaldo Nazario led the club to their only Ballon d’Or win in 1990 and 1997 respectively.

7. Hamburg

Ballon d’Or Wins- 2

German football club Hamburg join the list of clubs that have won the Ballon d’Or award twice. The interesting thing about Hamburg’s win is that the club bagged the win two times consecutively with the same player being the recipient.

Being one of Germany’s football giants in the late 1970s, Hamburg dominated the country’s football space. Football forward, Kevin Keegan was at the forefront of the club’s dominance. The footballer led Hamburg into their only Ballon d’Or consecutive wins in 1978 and 1979 respectively after leaving Liverpool. The player scored multiple goals that season and gained the attention of the French Award team who voted him to win both awards.

6. Manchester United

Ballon d’Or Wins- 4

English football club, Manchester United dominated the Ballon d’Or trophy in the 1960s, winning thrice in 1964, 1966, and 1968, before winning again in 2008. Denis Law led the Red Devils to their first win in 1964 after he scored 46 goals in 42 appearances in the 1963-64 campaign. In 1966, English forward and midfielder, Bobby Charlton, won the award, thanks to his influence over England’s FIFA World Cup win the same year.

The other two players who have won the award for Manchester United are George Best and Cristiano Ronaldo in 1968 and 2008 respectively. Ronaldo’s win came 40 years after United’s last win. His win came as a result of his efforts which led the club to win the European double, scoring a total of 42 goals in the 2007/2008 competitions.

5. Bayern Munich

Ballon d’Or Wins- 5

Next on our list of Football Clubs with the most Ballon d’Or wins is Bayern Munich. The club is not regarded as the greatest German club of all time for nothing. Bayern Munich has won the Ballon d’Or award five times in the 1970s and 1980s. German football giants, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge led the club to their five Ballon d’Or wins.

Gerd Muller made history as the first Bayern player to bag the trophy after winning it in 1970- the year that saw Muller score 52 goals in a season, including the world cup for Germany. Beckenbauer on the other hand won the award in 1972, the same season he won the Bundesliga with Bayern and UEFA Euro with Germany. He won it again in 1976 before Rummenigge won it again in 1980 and 1981 consecutively. Rummenigge scored a total of 75 goals altogether in both seasons.

For the 2022 award edition, Bayern’s Joshua Kimmich has been nominated, and may just earn the club their 5th Ballon d’Or.

4. AC Milan

Ballon d’Or Wins- 8

AC Milan is another club on the list of Ballon d’Or winners with the most awards. The club has always been recognized as one of Europe’s best clubs that have birthed some of the best players in the history of football.

Milan boasts of eight trophies across different decades. The club is famous for winning the Ballon d’Or award three times in a row in the 1980s. The last time they bagged a Ballon d’Or award, however, was in 2007 when attacking midfielder, Kaka led them to the win. The first Milan player to win a Ballon d’Or trophy for the club was Gianni Rivera (1969). He played a major role in their European Champions League Cup in the 1968/1969 campaign. It wasn’t until 18 years later (1987) that AC Milan produced the next Ballon d’Or winner, Ruud Gullit.

Other Milan players who have won the award are Marco van Basten  (1988, 1989 & 1992), George Weah (1995), Andriy Shevchenko (2004), and Kaka (2007).

3. Juventus

Ballon d’Or Wins- 8

Italian club, Juventus is regarded as the most successful Italian club in the world. The club’s first Ballon d’Or winner was Omar Sivori in 1961, after which they went on to dominate the 1980s, winning the trophy four times in a row.

Paolo Rossi won the award in 1982 for his legendary performance in Italy’s World Cup that year. French Midfielder, Michel Platini won three Ballon d’Or awards back-to-back in 1983, 1984, and 1985 respectively.

The other players responsible for Juventus’s multiple Ballon d’Or wins are Roberto Baggio (1993), Zinedine Zidane (1998), and Pavel Nedvěd in 2003.

2. Real Madrid

Ballon d’Or Wins- 11

With 11 Ballon d’Or trophies, Real Madrid is the second club with the most Ballon d’Or winners in the world. The club first won the trophy three times in a row from 1957-1959 when the award was still in its early days, establishing the brand as a Balon d’Or giant.

Not only is Real Madrid the second most Ballon d’Or awarded club in the history of football so far. They are also the club with the most La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles. Enough said. Here’s a list of footballers that have won Ballon d’Or trophies so far for Real Madrid.

1. Alfredo Di Stéfano- 1957
2. Raymond Kopa- 1958
3. Alfredo Di Stéfano- 1959
4. Luís Figo- 2000
5. Ronaldo– 2002
6. Fabio Cannavaro- 2006
7. Cristiano Ronaldo- 2013
8. Cristiano Ronaldo- 2014
9. Cristiano Ronaldo- 2016
10. Cristiano Ronaldo– 2017
11. Luka Modric- 2018

1. Barcelona

Ballon d’Or Wins- 13

Spanish professional football club, Barcelona (Barça) is the club with the most Ballon d’Or awards. Barça’s Ballon d’Or win started way back in 1960, putting an end to Real Madrid’s consecutive wins. Spanish forward, Luis Suárez began Barcelona’s journey to Ballon d’Or in 1960 when he bagged the award.

Lionel Messi remains the player with the most Ballon d’Or awards in the world. His strong competitor, Christino Ronaldo comes behind him as the second football player with the most Ballon d’Or with a total of 5 trophies. Messi on the other hand brags of 7 trophies.

Here’s a list of Barcelona players who have won the award, giving Barcelona their title as the football club with the most Ballon d’Or.

1. Luis Suárez- 1960
2. Johan Cruyff- 1973
3. Johan Cruyff- 1974
4. Hristo Stoichkov- 1994
5. Rivaldo- 1999
6. Ronaldinho- 2005
7. Lionel Messi- 2009
8. Lionel Messi- 2010
9. Lionel Messi- 2011
10. Lionel Messi-2012
11. Lionel Messi- 2015
12. Lionel Messi- 2019
13. Lionel Messi- 2021

Barcelona and Real Madrid are also two clubs with the most Ballon d’Or nominees. Interestingly in 2022, Messi would not win the Ballon d’Or as he was not shortlisted for the award. Christiano Ronaldo on the other hand was shortlisted- this time, not as a Real Madrid player but as a Manchester United forward.

Top 10 Clubs With the Most Ballon d’Or Winners

Here’s a table containing the list of clubs that have produced the most Ballon d’Or winners over the years.

See the full list of Ballon d’Or players since 1956.