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#3 Alfredo Di Stefano (1959) - 33 years, 161 days
Alfredo Di Stefano is one of a handful of players to have won multiple Ballon d'Or awards. His second win in 1959 made him one of the oldest winners of the coveted award.
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One of the finest strikers to have graced the game, Di Stefano was a lethal goalscorer for Real Madrid. He helped the Spanish giants to trophies galore during his time at the club. Di Stefano's six goals in the 1958-59 season helped Madrid win their fourth European Cup on the trot.
Di Stefano was also accorded the Super Ballon d'Or honor in 1989 for his exploits in the game. The award was given for his tremendous achievements, having scored more than 300 goals and won 17 trophies with Madrid.
#2 Lev Yashin (1963) - 34 years, 55 days
Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to win the coveted Ballon d'Or award. Widely regarded as one of the finest custodians to have graced the game, Yashin spent his entire club career with Dynamo Moscow.
Credited with having saved over 150 penalties as per FIFA records, Yashin was an impenetrable last line of defense for his team. He kept over 250 clean sheets during his career.
Yashin was a sweeper-keeper decades ahead of his time with lightning-quick reflexes and impressive passing prowess. He helped Dynamo concede only seven goals en route to their fifth league win on the trot in the 1962-63 season. Yashin's incredible performances in goal during the campaign meant he won the Ballon d'Or award in 1963.
Yashin, who expired in 1989, played a key role in the Soviet Union winning the inaugural European Championships in 1960. He also performed excellently at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile.
France Football also started the Lev Yashin award in his honor in 2019 as an award for the best goalkeeper in a year.
#1 Stanley Mathews (1956) - 41 years, 317 days
Sir Stanley Mathews was the inaugural winner of the Ballon d'Or award in 1956. Bagging the award at the age of 41, he remains the oldest Ballon d'Or winner by a proverbial country mile.
Mathews was a winger blessed with electric pace and played until the ripe old age of 50, thanks to his impeccable fitness. He spent a record 33 seasons in the English top flight. Additionally, he was not booked even once in these seasons. Both are records that are unlikely to ever be emulated by anyone.
Thanks to his stellar exploits, Matthews was knighted while he was still playing the game. His 1953 FA Cup win with Blackpool, where they scored thrice in the last 35 minutes to seal a thrilling 4-3 win, was his only major honor. The match has since become known as the 'Mathews Final'.
Mathews beat Alfredo Di Stefano to the Ballon d'Or award in 1956.
During a stellar international career lasting 24 years, Mathews scored 11 times for England.
