10 things you probably didn't know about the Ballon d'Or

Manchester United's three Ballon d'Or winners

#8 History of English players

So far, 49 English players have received a nomination, at least once, in the race for winning the Ballon d'Or. David Beckham leads the race with 10 nominations, whereas Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton have been nominated 9 times each.

Third on the list is Bobby Moore, as a seven-time nominee, whereas the likes of Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen and Jimmy Greaves were nominated 6 times.

#7 Ballon d'Or winners from England

As mentioned, Sir Stanley Matthews won the inaugural Golden Ball in 1956, at the ripe age of 41. Eight years later, Dennis Law of Manchester United won the award in 1964, followed by Sir Bobby Charlton two years later.

George Best then won it in 1968, thus completing Manchester United's "Holy Trinity". After leaving Liverpool, Kevin Keegan joined Hamburg and won back-to-back Ballon d'Or awards in 1978 and 1979.

England then got its first and only Ballon d'Or winner in the Premier League era, till date, in the form of Michael Owen, who won it while at Liverpool in 2001, after winning the mini treble.