Winning the Ballon d’Or is the most important individual award for all football players. Therefore, winning this reward multiple times means that you are really special.
Speaking of winning more than one award, NOSTRABET reported that Lionel Messi won the 2023 Ballon d’Or, which means it is his 8th award. He held the record before this with 7 awards, but now the number is up by 1. Erling Haaland, Manchester City’s world-class striker, came second, and Kylian Mbappe finished third.
Inter Miami’s legendary 36-year-old player won the trophy in Paris, even though some football experts predicted that Erling Haaland would be the one to get it. La Pulga deserved the trophy after he helped his country, Argentina, win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. His success also means that he becomes the first active MLS player to win the highest individual award in football.
Messi was voted the best player in the world by more than 100 journalists. Besides his successful World Cup run with Argentina, Messi also became Inter Miami’s most valuable player. Although he joined the club recently, Messi already helped it win the League Cup, the club’s first trophy.
Messi’s record 8th Ballon d’Or is impressive, to say the least, but he is not the only one who won the trophy several times. Let’s learn more about all of them, as well as a few other important things.
Top 10 Players With The Most Ballon d’Or Winners
As mentioned, Lionel Messi leads the chart here with 8 trophies. His first accomplishment came in 2009, followed by 2010, 2011, and 2012. After that, Messi also won it in 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Messi also has one third place, and he finished second a total of 5 times.
If you take a look at the chart, you can see that the second place for the most Ballon d’Or trophies goes to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar lifted the trophy in 2008, followed by 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. What’s interesting is that he also finished second six times, and he also has a 3rd place. The battle between him and Messi has always been incredibly fun to watch because the two won 10 consecutive Ballon d’Ors between 2008 and 2017.
Number 3 on the list for the most Ballon d’Or trophies is Michel Platini. The French superstar won the most prestigious individual football award a total of 3 times. What’s interesting is that he had three consecutive victories in 1983, 1984, and 1985. Platini never came second, but he has been third twice (in 1977 and 1980).After Platini, we have Johan Cruyff, who also has 3 trophies. The Dutch superstar won the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Like Platini, Cruyff never came second, but he had one third place in 1975.
The last player with 3 Ballon d’Or trophies is also from Dutch, and his name is Marco van Basten. He got the award in 1988, 1989, and 1992.
Franz Beckenbauer is the next name on the list of Ballon d’Or winners, with a total of 2 trophies. The German player won the awards in 1972 and 1976, but unlike the two names mentioned above, he also has 2 second places. Beckenbauer also finished third in 1966.
Up next is the legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo. The GOAT also won the event two times, in 1997 and 2002. The latter came following Brazil’s incredible World Cup performance when the country won the championship. What’s interesting is that Ronaldo is still the youngest player to win this prestigious award. Aside from the two trophies, Ronaldo also finished second in 1996 and third in 1998.
After Ronaldo, we also have to mention the Spanish superstar Alfredo Di Stefano, who also has 2 trophies. He won them in 1957 and 1959 and also won second place in 1977.
Another player with 2 trophies is Kevin Keegan. The English player became the best in the world in 1978 and 1979. He also had one second place in 1977.
The last professional football player with 2 Ballon d’Or trophies is Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. He was voted as the best footballer in 1980 and 1981. Interestingly, he also came second in 1979.
There are a lot of great players that have won the award once throughout the years. Names like Zinedine Zidane, Hristo Stoichkov and Luis Figo feature in the list of exactly 35 football players with a single Ballon d’Or victory.
Top 10 Ballon d’Or Wins By Country
There are world-class footballers from almost every country in the world. Nevertheless, some states have a lot more Ballon d’Or winners than others.
If you take a look at the table below, you can find information about the number of players that won the Ballon d’Or from each country, as well as how many trophies they have. The stats show that quality is more important than quantity because Messi’s 8 trophies lead the chart. What’s very interesting is that Messi has more trophies than all 3 of Portugal’s Ballon d’Or winners combined. The same applies to players from France, Germany, Netherlands, and more.
| Country | Wins | Players |
| Argentina | 8 | 1 |
| France | 7 | 5 |
| Germany | 7 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 3 |
| Portugal | 7 | 3 |
| Italy | 5 | 5 |
| Brazil | 5 | 4 |
| England | 5 | 4 |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 3 |
| Spain | 3 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 | 1 |
| Czech Rep. | 1 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | 1 | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 |
| Liberia | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 1 |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 |
Source: Wikipedia
Top 10 Ballon d’Or Wins By Club
Besides winning the most important club football championship, the best football clubs in the world are also delighted when some of their players receive individual awards, such as the Ballon d’Or. Needless to say, some clubs have way more players and trophies than others, so check the table for more details.
| Club | Wins | Players |
| Real Madrid | 12 | 8 |
| Barcelona | 12 | 6 |
| Juventus | 8 | 6 |
| Milan | 8 | 6 |
| Bayern Munich | 5 | 3 |
| Manchester United | 4 | 4 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2 | 2 |
| Inter Milan | 2 | 2 |
| Hamburger SV | 2 | 1 |
| Ajax | 1 | 1 |
| Benfica | 1 | 1 |
| Blackpool | 1 | 1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 1 | 1 |
| Borrusia Mönchengladbach | 1 | 1 |
| Dukla Prague | 1 | 1 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 1 | 1 |
| Ferencváros | 1 | 1 |
| Inter Miami | 1 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 1 |
| Marseille | 1 | 1 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | 1 |
Source: Wikipedia
An interesting thing that we can see is that Barcelona and Real Madrid are leading the chart with 12 wins each. However, Los Blancos have a total of 8 players that won this trophy, whereas Barcelona has 6. Another interesting fact is that there are more German teams than clubs from England and France.
Other Winners at the 2023 Ceremony
There is no arguing that Messi’s 8th Ballon d’Or trophy was the highlight of the ceremony in Paris. Yet, we saw a few other rewards that also deserve attention. Check the table below if you have missed out on some of the winners.
| Women’s Ballon d’Or | Aittana Bonmati |
| Socrates Trophy | Vinícius Júnior |
| Gerd Müller Trophy | Erling Haaland |
| Kopa Trophy | Jude Bellingham |
| Club of the Year | Manchester City |
| Yashin Trophy | Emiliano Martínez |
| Women’s Club of the Year | FC Barcelona |
Betting in Ballon d’Or – What Happened & What to Expect
If you have visited any of the leading online bookmakers offered by Nostrabet, you have probably seen they offered you the chance to wager on the Ballon d’Or winner. Despite Haaland’s success with City, our overview has revealed that Messi was the favorite across the board. His success with Argentina at the World Cup and his individual performance were on another level, and he deserved to win.
A quick look at the top-tier bookies revealed that the odds for Messi were 1.11. On the other hand, those for Haaland were between 3.00 and 5.00, depending on the operator. Vinícius Júnior was also on the list, but the odds for him were north of 20.00.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony is over, so we will have to wait until next year to see who will win again. Of course, all leading sports betting websites will allow people to wager on the ceremony. So, if this is something important to you, add it to your bookmarks and keep an eye on the available options.
In the meantime, you can visit some of the leading sports betting websites and choose from tons of football betting alternatives. The leading operators offer all competitions from different parts of the world, so you’ll always find exciting options.
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