5 youngest footballers to win the Ballon d'Or

Barcelona v Espanyol - La Liga
Lionel Messi with his first Ballon d'Or in 2009

#1 Ronaldo in 1997 (21 years, 3 months)

Ronaldo of Brazil celebrates scoring the winning goal
Ronaldo (left) after scoring the winning goal in FIFA World Cup 2002 Final

Another player with a career ruined because of injuries is the Brazilian superstar Ronaldo. But the two time World Cup winner is still known as one of the best footballers ever.

Ronaldo was only 20 when he was named the world's best footballer by FIFA in 1996 but Ballon d'Or went to Matthias Sommer. However, the year later Ronaldo was awarded by both organisations - by a significant amount.

In 1997 Ronaldo won the Cup Winners Cup with Barcelona and finished 2nd in the league, losing only by two points to Real Madrid. As the contract negations collapsed in summer, he left to Inter Milan after only one season with the Catalans in which he scored almost 50 goals.

In Italy, Ronaldo experienced career-threatening injuries, playing only 52 matches over the course of four seasons after a successful first one. After a World Cup victory in 2002, he joined Real Madrid and was a part of the famous Galacticos.

Quick Links

Edited by Sundaresh Kumar
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications