22 Football Clubs With Most Ballon d’Or Winners

This doesn’t need spelling out, of course, but winning the Ballon d’Or isn’t for the faint-hearted. You need to be the greatest footballer in the world with very little wiggle room for periods of poor performance across an allotted period. That’s why Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are two of the award’s best winners of all time.

Messi is the man with the biggest legacy in Ballon d’Or history, with the Argentine having won the biggest individual award on the planet on more occasions than any other – but since the first ceremony in 1956 when Sir Stanley Matthews picked up the award, there have been 47 different winners with Ousmane Dembele being the latest.

The prestigious individual accolade, awarded to the best footballer in each calendar year, was established by French news magazine France Football back in 1956. The Ballon d’Or has since been won by many of the greatest players in football history, including Ronaldo, Johan Cruyff, Ronaldo Nazario and Zinedine Zidane.

But which clubs have been the most successful since the award’s inception in the mid-50s? There are a number of clubs that have one winner in their history. So, with that being said, let’s take a closer look at which clubs boast the most Ballon d’Or winners.

22

Manchester City (Wins: 1)

A club that was boosted after Sheikh Mansour acquired them in 2008, Manchester City have been on an upwards trajectory since. They won England’s top flight in 2012, the first time since the 1960s, and – under Pep Guardiola’s guidance – have won the title on six different occasions. It, however, took until 2024 for one of their players to win the Ballon d’Or.

Rodri, the club’s lynchpin, pipped Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, who decided not to turn up, at the ceremony last year. There were questions over whether he deserved it, given that he was a central midfielder rather than a goal-getting forward, but that doesn’t take away his glory. It came after his greatest season in City colours as he and his teammates secured the treble.

21

Marseille (Wins: 1)

Jean-Pierre Papin was the clear winner in 1991 after winning Ligue 1 with Marseille and reaching the European Cup final. The iconic striker is still seen as one of the very best produced by the nation that also blessed the world of football with the likes of Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

Papin was the only player to have won the Ballon d’Or while playing for a French club for two decades until a certain Argentine magician became the second to achieve this. His goalscoring ability along with his overall technical game being slightly underrated by many. Papin had a long and successful career, although this would be his only Ballon d’Or triumph.

20

Liverpool (Wins: 1)

Liverpool’s only Ballon d’Or winner so far was England’s Michael Owen in 2001. The striker scored two very good goals in the FA Cup final in 2001 as the Reds went on to win a treble in the 2000/01 campaign. Liverpool won both domestic cups and a UEFA Cup trophy with the pacey forward being at the centre of the action.

Owen even beat an insane list of players to win the Ballon d’Or in 2001 including the likes of Raul, David Beckham and Luis Figo, who all had brilliant years in their own rights. This was perhaps the peak of Owen’s career as a rather ill-judged move to Real Madrid in 2004 would be the beginning of the end to his time at the elite level with injuries stacking up in the years after.

19

Ferencvaros (Wins: 1)

Ferencvaros’ Florian Albert fended off competition from Sir Bobby Charlton and Jimmy Johnstone to win the 1967 Ballon d’Or. When asked about the only Hungarian to have lifted the trophy, many would perhaps guess Ferenc Puskas, but it is actually Albert who claims that honour. He was a forward who spent his entire club career with Ferencvaros, scoring an incredible 256 goals in 351 games.

It is incredible to watch back old footage of the striker, as Albert almost played as a more modern forward who could drop deep and help with the build-up for his team. He was far from a penalty box striker who was constantly on the move to get onto the end of chances created and this makes his goal tally look all the more impressive and gives the indication that he was more than deserving of his Ballon d’Or success.

18

Dynamo Moscow (Wins: 1)

Arguably the most legendary goalkeeper of all time, Lev Yashin won the Ballon d’Or with Dynamo Moscow in 1963. With all the world-class goalkeepers to have followed in his path, none of them have this achievement on their CV. Yashin is the only shot-stopper to have won the Ballon d’Or, with even the likes of Oliver Khan and Gianluigi Buffon unable to reach those heights.

Remembered as the iconic, hat-wearing goalkeeper, the Russian was majestic to watch between the sticks, with modern fans wishing they were able to witness his brilliance. He was a hero for both club and country throughout his playing days, and his legacy will live on forever, particularly with Dynamo Moscow supporters.

17

Dukla Prague (Wins: 1)

Czech side Dukla Prague were dissolved in 1996, while midfielder Josef Masopust passed away in 2015. This does mean that the late midfielder will go down as the only man to have won the Ballon d’Or for the club in its history. The Czech international played the majority of his games for the Prague-based team, while also having stints with FK Teplice and Crossing Molenbeek.

He won eight Czechoslovakian titles with Dukla Prague over the course of his 16-year stay with the club that is no longer around. Being remembered as the most legendary figure in a club’s entire history is not a bad legacy to leave behind, and Masopust would surely have been very proud of his accomplishment in 1962.

16

Borussia Mönchengladbach (Wins: 1)

Allan Simonsen helped Borussia Mönchengladbach win the Bundesliga and reach the final of the European Cup in 1977. His time with the German club was extremely successful as Simonsen helped his side to three Bundesliga titles in a row from 1974/75 to 1976/77. His rise to Ballon d’Or level was building up over the course of those three title-winning campaigns.

After his time with Borussia Mönchengladbach was over, he would earn a move to Spanish giants, Barcelona, a testament to the ability of the striker. The glory days of his career were back in Germany, however, while also doing a great job leading the line for his national team.

15

Borussia Dortmund (Wins: 1)

Matthias Sammer beat Ronaldo Nazario and Alan Shearer to the Ballon d’Or after winning Euro 1996 with Germany. Beating such attacking talent to the honour was a big success for the man who spent his career doing most of his work in the opposite direction. Being capable of playing as a defensive midfield player and often as a sweeper too, he was a force to be reckoned with throughout his playing days.

The 1996 Euros may have been the peak of his performances while leading his nation to European glory. This doesn’t tell the whole story of his career, however, as he would go on to win three Bundesliga titles, with two of them being with Borussia Dortmund and the other with Stuttgart.

14

Blackpool (Wins: 1)

Winner of the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956, Stanley Matthews is one of four English players to win the award. More notably, Matthews is actually the oldest-ever Ballon d’Or winner as he was into his 40s when given the award. His career was very long as he would go on to play into his 50s before finally hanging up his boots.

It is extremely unlikely that Blackpool will be moving any higher on this list any time soon with the club playing in League One in England. His success becomes even more special when considering it was, as alluded to earlier, the inaugural awarding of the Ballon d’Or in 1956.

13

Benfica (Wins: 1)

One of the greatest players of the 1960s, Eusebio scored 48 goals in 36 games during the 1964-65 campaign at Benfica. This was a big factor in his Ballon d’Or win in 1965, becoming the first Portuguese player to have received the award. His clinical nature in front of goal has helped keep him in the hearts of Benfica fans as well as all other Portuguese supporters even after his passing in 2014.

He may have represented other clubs during his career, but the man will always be associated as possibly the biggest legend Benfica have ever had. Eusebio is still one of football’s greatest finishers of all time, more than five decades after winning the Ballon d’Or.