7 players who have won the Ballon d'Or consecutively

The world's most craved football award, the Ballon d'Or, was first introduced in 1956 and immediately caught the imagination of fans and players worldwide. It soon became the holy grail of football, the symbol of excellence, the one absolute award every player desired, but few got their hands on.

Also Read: 3 Defenders who have won the Ballon d'Or

To win the award once is an achievement of a lifetime, to win it more than once is something only a handful of men have managed in their careers. However, some players not only won the awards more than once but actually won it consecutively, a feat that required tremendous levels of consistency. Today we take a look at 6 players who won the Ballon d'Or consecutively and etched their names in history.

#7 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany, Bayern Munich)

The former Bayern Munich footballer was a formidable player during his career. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was born on 25th September 1955 at Lippstadt in West Germany. He started his footballing career with local side Borussia Lippstadt before he was picked up by Bayern Munich in 1974.

The young dribbler with an eye for goal was immediately noticed by the coaches and management. Rummenigge showed great promise and developed from a youth prodigy to a talented footballer under the guidance of Pal Csernai, who had taken over the reins at Bayern Munich in 1979.

In the 1979/80 season, the German footballer was on fire. His goalscoring prowess lit up the Bundesliga and helped his club win the title. Rummenigge managed to score 26 goals in the league and finished as the top scorer in Bundesliga. In total, the German scored 36 goals from 47 games and caught the imagination of football fans around the globe.

Rummenigge went on to receive the 1980 Ballon d'Or, capping off a fine season. He finished with 122 points, beating countryman Bernd Schuster and Frenchman Michel Platini to become the best player of the year.

The German followed that up with another stellar season with Bayern, scoring 29 goals from 34 games in the league and helping Bayern to another Bundesliga title. He was once again adjudged the top scorer of the league and managed to score 39 goals from 45 games in all competitions. That resulted in him winning his second Ballon d'Or in 1981, where he secured the top prize with 106 points and became, at that time, only the third player to win consecutive Ballon d'Or awards.

#6 Kevin Keegan (England, Hamburg)

The Englishman started his career with Scunthorpe United, where he operated mainly as a midfielder. In 1971, Kevin Keegan transferred to Liverpool, where he was transformed from a midfielder into a striker by the legendary Bill Shankly. The move turned out to be a masterstroke because Keegan would soon go on to make a name for himself as one of the best players of his time.

During his time at Liverpool, Keegan achieved massive success and became a household name in the country. In 1977, the Englishman agreed to move to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga and it would be the turning point of his life. He went on to score 12 goals from 33 games in all competitions in his debut season. In the following year, the Englishman scored 17 goals from 35 games in all competitions and helped Hamburg win the Bundesliga.

In 1978, Kevin Keegan won the Ballon d'Or, gathering 87 points to become only the third Englishman to win the prestigious award. In the following year, he became the only Englishman to win 2 Ballon d'Ors and also the second player to win 2 consecutive Ballon d'Or awards.

#5 Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, Ajax, and Barcelona)

The man who revolutionized the beautiful game with his idea of total football was one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game. Johan Cruyff captured the imagination of a generation of budding footballers and mesmerized them with his ball control and dribbling skills.

The Dutchman started his career at Ajax, before rising through the ranks and soon becoming one of the hottest young players in the world. He won his first Ballon d’Or in 1971, securing 116 points to get the better of Inter Milan’s Sandro Mazzola and Manchester United’s George Best. 2 years later, he picked up his second Ballon d'Or after gathering 96 points. In the same year, he was picked by Barcelona for a then world-record fee.

At the Camp Nou, Cruyff won the Ballon d’Or for the third time and also became the first player to win the award consecutively. He secured 116 points once again, to beat stiff competition from Bayern Munich’s Franz Beckenbauer and Legia Warsaw’s Kazimierz Deyna. The Dutchman also created history by becoming the first footballer to win more than 2 Ballon d’Or awards.

#4 Marco van Basten (Netherlands, AC Milan)

The Dutch legend, Marco van Basten, rose through the ranks at Ajax, after joining the club as a teenager and soon turned into one of the craftiest footballers in the world. His performances earned him a move to Italy, where he joined AC Milan in 1987 and enjoyed tremendous success. The Dutchman could only manage 8 goals from 19 appearances in all competitions in his debut season, as he was hounded by a niggling ankle injury.

The following season though, van Basten picked up the pace and managed to find the back of the net 33 times in 47 games in all competition. In 1988, he received 129 points and beat fellow countrymen and club mates Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard to win the Ballon d'Or. The following year, van Basten amassed 129 points once again and won the 1989 Ballon d'Or, capping off another fruitful year for his club.

The Dutchman did go on to win a third Ballon d'Or in his career, in 1992, when he gathered 98 points to finish ahead of Hristo Stoichkov and Dennis Bergkamp.

#3 Michel Platini (France, Juventus)

The legendary Frenchman was a leader on the pitch and one of the finest players to grace the beautiful game. Michel Platini first caught the eye while playing for Nancy, his father's club, where he enjoyed mixed success. He had a similar experience with Saint-Etienne, where he played for 3 years from 1979 to 1982. It was only after he joined Juventus in 1982, that the Frenchman justified his abilities.

At Turin, Platini played for 5 seasons and won a host of trophies. He scored 28 goals from 48 appearances in all competitions in his debut season and went on to score 25 and 29 goals respectively in the following 2 seasons. It was also at Juventus that he got his hands on the prize that is every footballer's dream.

The Frenchman secured 110 points and lifted the Ballon d'Or in 1983. The following year, Platini managed 110 points once again and won his second Ballon d'Or. By then, the world had become a fan of his dribbling, his passing abilities, and his ball control. In 1985, Michel Platini made history by becoming the first player in the world to win 3 consecutive Ballon d'Or awards. The Frenchman received 127 points and became only the second player to win 3 Ballon d'Or awards at that time.

#2 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)

The Portuguese first broke into the scene while playing for Manchester United. Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Red Devils as a teenager in 2002 and under the able guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, soon became one of the most feared players in the world. The Portuguese won his first Ballon d'Or while playing for the Premier League giants in 2008, but after securing his dream move to Real Madrid the following year, he managed to achieve greater heights.

Initially, the Portuguese lingered in the shadows of Lionel Messi, but in 2013, he managed to win his second Ballon d'Or. He would reach the top once again in the following year, adding his name to the list of players who had won the Ballon d'Or consecutively.

Ronaldo finished second behind Messi once again in 2015 but reclaimed the prize the following year. In 2017, the Portuguese won his 5th Ballon d'Or award, managing to win the coveted prize in consecutive years for the second time in his career.

#1 Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)

The Argentinean became the third-youngest player to win the Ballon d'Or when he lifted the award in 2009. By then, Lionel Messi had already become a household name, churning up magic on the pitch and mesmerizing fans around the world with his ball control. He started a record-breaking spree that propelled him to the top of the world and his tryst with the Ballon d'Or had just begun.

The following year, Messi lifted his second Ballon d'Or, as the world watched in awe. The Argentinean became only the 5th player to win it back to back, but Messi had no intention of stopping. In 2011, following another round of record toppling displays on the pitch, Barcelona's talisman completed a hattrick of Ballon d'Or awards, becoming only the second player in the world to do so after Michel Platini. While the world rejoiced in his genius, Messi was hardly the one to bask in his glory.

The Argentinean made history in 2012 by picking up his 4th Ballon d'Or, becoming the first player ever to do so and the only one to date to do so consecutively. He remains the youngest player to touch that achievement, a record that won't be broken anytime soon. Messi picked up his 5th Ballon d'Or in 2015 and is in contention to win the award once again this year.

Also Read: Top 5 Clubs with the maximum Ballon d'Or wins

Edited by Habil Ahmed Sherule