2023-10-30 01:31:55
It’s a club to which you are only invited when you have made an indelible mark on the history of football. And even. This Monday, October 30, the 2023 Golden Ball will be awarded by France Football during a ceremony at the Théâtre du Châtelet (Paris I). And one question is necessarily in the minds of all followers: will he enrich the record of a player who has already won multiple prizes, Lionel Messi, or will he expand the large family of “BO” winners to include a newcomer? ?
In 65 editions (the Golden Ball has been awarded since 1956 but that of 2020 was not awarded due to the Covid-19 pandemic), only 10 men’s players have managed to register their name more than once times on the charts. Among the women, Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas has already won two of… the four trophies put up for grabs by “FF”.
7 Golden Balls: Lionel Messi alone at the top
Waiting for the eighth? If the debate around the “Goat” (“greatest of all time”) was based on the number of golden balls in the trophy cabinet, the Argentinian would have given up a long time ago and will remain undoubtedly for a very long time in history the most successful player with the Ballon d’Or (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021). After winning his first in 2009, with 98.5% of the possible votes, an absolute record, he was the first player in history to win it four times in a row. He also holds the record for number of podiums (13), where he has been consistently ranked since 2007 with the exception of 2018 (5th) and 2022 (unnamed).
5 Golden Balls: Ronaldo, the other extra-terrestrial
His endless long-distance joust with Messi animated the world of football for ten seasons. Ten seasons during which either the Portuguese or the Argentinian were winners, leaving no crumbs for the others. Despite everything, at the twilight of his career, Cristiano Ronaldo has “only” 5 Golden Balls, the first in 2008, compared to the 7, and perhaps soon 8, of Lionel Messi. A crazy gap which should not take anything away from the crazy performances of the Portuguese, who has 12 podiums but above all the record for nominations (18). We will especially remember his crazy domination between 2013 and 2017, where he won four “BO” out of five possible (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
On January 9, 2012, Michel Platini, three-time winner of the Ballon d’Or, presented Lionel Messi, who surpassed him that day, with his fourth consecutive trophy. Philippe Perusseau / Icon Sport
3 Golden Balls: Cruyff, Platini and van Basten in the legend
Three players, three odes to magical eras: the first Johan Cruyff, rather the 1970s; the second, Michel Platini, the early 1980s; the third finally, Marco van Basten, the end of the 80’s and the beginning of the 90’s. Even if Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have trivialized it, winning a Ballon d’Or is already an achievement, so what about three! The Dutchman dominated the polls in the 70s, winning the 1971, 1973 and 1974 editions. “Platoche” is the only player in history with Messi to have won three in a row (1983, 1984, 1985) . Van Basten, for his part, won the 1988, 1989 and 1992 editions.
2 Golden Balls: Di Stéfano, Beckenbauer, Keegan, Rummenigge, Ronaldo and Putellas
In the 1970s, there was not only Johan Cruyff: there were also two German phenomena who squatted the podiums and his first step, Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976, 5 podiums in all) and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980, 1981, podium in 1979). Two players who have therefore joined the exclusive club of multi-titled players where we also find among the men, in addition to those mentioned above, the Kevin Keegan of the Hamburg era (1978, 1979), the illustrious Madrid player Alfredo Di Stéfano (1957, 1959), second winner in history, and the Brazilian Ronaldo (1997, 2002). We also find Alexia Putellas, who achieved the feat of winning two of the four women’s Golden Balls which have been awarded since the creation of the trophy, in 2018. The Barcelona native is a double title holder (2021, 2022).
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