The best players in soccer history have a Ballon d'Or award in their trophy cabinet.
First given out in 1956, the Ballon d'Or award goes to the sport's top player, voted by panel of soccer journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA Men's Rankings. Previous winners span from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff to Marco van Basten and Zinedine Zidane.
Of course, the sport's two greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, headline the long list of former winners with eight and five Ballon d'Or awards respectively. Much in part to their success, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two clubs with the most men's Ballon d'Or wins (12) in history.
Check out every Men's Ballon d'Or winner since the award's inception almost a century ago.
Every Player to Win the Men's Ballon d'Or
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Men's Ballon d'Or: Full List of Winners.
