Since the turn of the century, the number of Barcelona Ballon d’Or winners has grown to six different players in terms of the men’s award, with the brilliance of Leo Messi ensuring a player from the Catalan club has been voted the world’s best on 12 occasions.
That’s a joint record along with Real Madrid, with LaLiga’s big two the dominant forces when it has come to the award in recent years.
1960 was the first year a Barcelona player won the men’s Ballon d’Or. Since then, there has been a blaugrana recipient in every decade, with the exception of the 1980s and so far the 2020s.
With Barca currently flying under Hansi Flick, that could potentially change in 2025. Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski are among the early favourites, according to sportsbooks featured by Gamble USA, to win the big prize next year.
Barcelona have also been dominant when it has come to the Women’s Ballon d’Or. The prize has only been handed out six times in total so far, but a Barca player has won it on four occasions.
Barcelona Ballon d’Or winners
| Player | Year(s) of Ballon d’Or win |
| Luis Suarez | 1960 |
| Johan Cruyff | 1973, 1974 |
| Hristo Stoichkov | 1994 |
| Rivaldo | 1999 |
| Ronaldinho | 2005 |
| Leo Messi | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 |
Luis Suarez (1960)
A Barcelona player by the name of Luis Suarez is a previous Ballon d’Or winner, although it might not be the one you’re thinking of.
Born in A Coruña in 1935, Spain’s Luis Suarez was one of the greats of his era, shining for Barcelona during a six year spell, before ultimately moving to Italy to play for Inter Milan and Sampdoria.
Suarez won the Ballon d’Or in 1960 towards the end of his career in LaLiga. Perhaps his most important contribution that year was a brace for Barca in a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of a European Cup tie between Spain’s big two. The Catalans went on to win the tie 4-3, ending Real Madrid’s five-year winning streak in the competition.
While Barcelona would ultimately lose the final to Benfica in Suarez’s last match at the club, the Galician was the first Spanish-born player to win the men’s Ballon d’Or, and surprisingly the only one until Rodri’s recent success.
Johan Cruyff (1973, 1974)
While Suarez is today not that well known outside of Spain, Barca’s next Ballon d’Or winner was unquestionably one of the all-time greats.
Johan Cruyff had already won the award in 1971 as an Ajax player and having helped inspire the Dutch club to a third straight European Cup in 1973, he made the move to Barcelona that summer beginning what would become a lifelong association with the club.
Cruyff was a Barca player by the time the 1973 Ballon d’Or was awarded, although in truth it was largely his efforts for Ajax that sealed that win.
In his first season at Barca, Cruyff helped inspire the Catalans to a first league title in 14 years. He was also one of the defining figures at the 1974 World Cup as the Netherlands reached the final where they were upset by West Germany, so it was no surprise when he won that year’s Ballon d’Or too.
Hristo Stoichkov (1994)
20 years later, Cruyff was now deep into his successful stint as Barcelona coach and he had one of the most devastating strikeforces in the business with Brazilian legend Romario, partnering the iconic Hristo Stoichkov in attack.
Stoichkov had already narrowly missed out on the Ballon d’Or in 1992, the year of Barcelona’s first European Cup, with Marco van Basten the only player to finish ahead of him in the voting that year.
The striker scored 16 goals as Barca won LaLiga again in the 1993/94 season, but it was Stoichkov’s ability to lead unfancied Bulgaria to the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup, scoring six ties in the competition to share the Golden Boot with Russia’s Oleg Salenko, that sealed his 1994 Ballon d’Or success.
Rivaldo (1999)
Five years later, Rivaldo became Barcelona’s first South American recipient, with the Brazilian winger winning the vote ahead of Andriy Shevchenko and David Beckham.
Rivaldo had been the driving force behind Barca’s 1998/99 league title win, scoring 24 goals to narrowly finish second behind Raul in that season’s Pichichi race.
Brazil were also Copa America winners in 1999, with Rivaldo scoring five times, including a brace in a 3-0 final win over Uruguay, and his ability to light up the football pitch with his effortless style and flair, ensured Rivaldo became the fourth Barca player to receive the Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldinho (2005)
By the mid 2000’s, it was another Brazilian who had taken centre stage as the world’s best. While Ronaldinho’s peak was shorter than some of the other modern day greats, Barcelona got the very best out of him.
Ronaldinho was a major reason why Frank Rijkaard’s team ended a six-year wait for a major trophy by winning LaLiga 2004/05, although the Brazilian was arguably even better the following season when the Catalans successfully defended their Spanish title and also won the Champions League.
It was 2005 rather than 2006 when he was rewarded with the Ballon d’Or though, becoming only the third Brazilian recipient after Ronaldo and Rivaldo.
Leo Messi (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
LaLiga and indeed the Ballon d’Or award headed into a new era with the consistent brilliance of Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo which stretched from the late 2000s and deep into the 2010s.
During Barca’s golden years under Pep Guardiola, Messi won the award in four consecutive years, already moving clear of Cruyff, Van Basten and Michel Platini who had each won the award a joint record three times prior to that.
Champions League glory and 58 goals in club football during the 2014/15 season helped ensure Messi got his hands on the prize again, while he was voted the world’s best for the sixth time as a Barca player in 2019.
Since leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2021, Messi has since extended his record to eight Ballon d’Or wins in total.
Barcelona Ballon d’Or Feminin winners
| Player | Year(s) of Ballon d’Or win |
| Alexia Putellas | 2021, 2022 |
| Aitana Bonmati | 2023, 2024 |
The female version of the award is still in its infancy, having only been handed out for the first time in 2018. Since 2021, it has been a tale of Barcelona dominance, with the Catalan club’s all conquering women’s team unrivalled on the domestic and European stage in recent years.
Alexia Putellas was the female game’s outstanding player at the start of the decade, scoring 60 goals in all competitions for Barca across the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons. She was integral as the Catalans won the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the first time and was the worthy recipient of two Ballon d’Ors.
Putellas has suffered injury problems in recent years though, with her Barca teammate Aitana Bonmati emerging as the dominant midfielder in world football. Over the past couple of years, Bonmati has won everything, securing two more Champions League titles at club level.
Spain’s victory at the 2023 World Cup ensured she was the obvious choice for that year’s Ballon d’Or. She recently successfully defended her crown, making it a four year winning streak for Barca players in terms of the big individual prize in the female game.
Which current Barca players may challenge for the Ballon d’Or?
At just 17, Lamine Yamal is already operating at the kind of level that puts him in the Ballon d’Or conversation and it seems inevitable that the young winger will win the award at some point in the future.
If Barcelona can build on a strong start to LaLiga 2024/25 and go on to win the title, whilst reaching the latter stages of the Champions League, they may have a number of players in the running for the 2025 award. Lewandowski is perhaps the most obvious other candidate with the Polish striker scoring at a rate of better than a goal per game so far this term.
The likes of Pedri, Pau Cubarsi and Gavi also clearly have big futures ahead of them, although they are not viewed as Ballon d’Or candidates just yet.
In terms of the Ballon d’Or Feminin, Bonmati may take some stopping again in 2025, while her club and international teammate Salma Paralluelo could be a contender following successive third place finishes. Events at the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 could go some way to determining the winner though.
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