7 players who have won the Ballon d'Or consecutively

Modified Dec 01, 2019 13:23 GMT

Lionel Messi is the only player to win the Ballon d'Or 4 times in a row

#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.

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Edited by Habil Ahmed Sherule