Lionel Messi holds the record with eight Ballon d'Or wins and Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five; between them they won 13 of the 17 awards presented from 2008 to 2025.
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times, from 2009 to 2023. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five, and Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten share third with three each. The count covers France Football's men's Ballon d'Or, including the 2010-2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or, through the 2025 award won by Ousmane Dembélé.
The Ballon d'Or, created by France Football magazine in 1956, is widely regarded as football's most prestigious individual award. It was presented 69 times from 1956 to 2025 (no award was made in 2020), and 47 different players have won it. Only ten have won it more than once, and those ten make up this list. Eligibility widened over time: the award was limited to European players until 1995, when it opened to players of any nationality at European clubs, and it became a global prize in 2007. From 2010 to 2015 it was merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year as the FIFA Ballon d'Or; both organisations count those winners as Ballon d'Or winners.
Each dot = 1 award
Messi holds the record with eight wins: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. He is the only player to win the award with three clubs and the only one to win it while playing outside Europe, and his 14 top-three finishes are also a record.
Ronaldo won five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017), alone in second place. He also finished second six times, and his 18 nominations are the most of any player.
Platini won three years running, 1983 to 1985. He shares third place on three wins and is listed first of the three because he also finished third twice, in 1977 and 1980.
Cruyff won in 1971, 1973 and 1974 and was the first player to win the award three times. He also finished third in 1975.
Van Basten won in 1988, 1989 and 1992, joining Platini and Cruyff on three wins. He never finished second or third in any other year.
Beckenbauer won in 1972 and 1976 and is the only defender to win the award twice. He was also second in 1974 and 1975 and third in 1966, the most podium finishes of the two-time winners.
The Brazilian won in 1997 and 2002. His 1997 win made him the youngest winner, aged 21, and the first South American without European citizenship to take the award. He was second in 1996 and third in 1998.
Di Stéfano won in 1957 and 1959 after finishing second in the inaugural 1956 vote. In 1989 France Football gave him the honorary Super Ballon d'Or, voted the greatest of the multiple winners ahead of Cruyff and Platini.
Keegan won back-to-back in 1978 and 1979 after finishing second in 1977. He is the only English player to win the award twice.
Rummenigge took over from Keegan, winning in 1980 and 1981 after finishing second in 1979.
| # | Name | Country | Ballon d'Or wins | Second places | Third places | Win span | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2009-2023 | Forward |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 5 | 6 | 1 | 2008-2017 | Forward |
| 3 | Michel Platini | France | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1983-1985 | Midfielder |
| 4 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1971-1974 | Forward |
| 5 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1988-1992 | Forward |
| 6 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1972-1976 | Defender |
| 7 | Ronaldo Nazário | Brazil | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1997-2002 | Forward |
| 8 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain (born in Argentina) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1957-1959 | Forward |
| 9 | Kevin Keegan | England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1978-1979 | Forward |
| 10 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1980-1981 | Forward |
Players are ranked by the number of men's Ballon d'Or awards won, most first, using the wins-by-player table on Wikipedia's Ballon d'Or page, which is attributed to France Football, UEFA and other sources. The 2010-2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or editions count as Ballon d'Or wins. The Ballon d'Or Féminin, Kopa and Yashin trophies, and honorary awards such as the Super Ballon d'Or are excluded. Figures run through the 2025 award (Ousmane Dembélé), the most recent presented. Ties: three players share third place on three wins and five share sixth on two wins. Within a tie, players are ordered by second-place finishes, then third-place finishes, then the year of their first win, which matches the order of the source table.
Lionel Messi, with eight (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023). Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five.
Five: Lionel Messi (8), Cristiano Ronaldo (5), and Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten (3 each).
Yes. Franz Beckenbauer won in 1972 and 1976 and is the only defender to win it twice; Fabio Cannavaro won in 2006. Lev Yashin (1963) is the only goalkeeper to have won it.
Yes. From 2010 to 2015 the award was merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, and both FIFA and France Football count those six winners as Ballon d'Or winners.
Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 award, his first. It did not change the top ten.
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