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The Ballon d'Or is football's most prestigious individual accolade, given to the footballer judged to have had the best performance in a particular season. Earlier, it used to be handed out for performances over the calendar year, but this edition onwards has been given out on a season-performance basis.
Since its inception in 1956, a lot of top stars have won the coveted award. Lionel Messi holds the record for most wins. The Argentine has won the award a record seven times.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema is the most-recent winner of the award. The striker beat the likes of Sadio Mane and Kevin De Bruyne to clinch his first-ever Ballon d'Or.
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Benzema became the first French footballer to bag the award since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. He also became the fifth French footballer in history to achieve this feat.
Without further ado, we shall be ranking the five French players who have won the Ballon d'Or.
#5 Raymond Kopa
Raymond Kopa was the first-ever French player to win the award in 1958. The former France international was arguably one of the finest stars of the 1950's. A quick and agile attacking midfielder, he was known for his dribbling, playmaking and prolific galscoring abilities.
Kopa was an integral member of the Real Madrid side which dominated Europe, winning three consecutive European Cups between 1957-1959. He also helped Les Blues to a third-place finish at the 1958 FIFA World Cup, where he scored three goals.
Prior to wining the award in 1958, Kopa was ranked third in 1956 and 1957. He also finished as runner-up in 1959. The Kopa Award (to the best performing player under the age of 21) is named in his honor.
#4 Jean-Pierre Papin
One player whose goalscoring exploits are not much talked about is Jean-Pierre Papin. The former Olympique Marseille, AC Milan and Bayern Munich forward was a joy to watch in his days.
Papin was a goalscoring genius who had a knack for scoring incredible volleys. He registered 294 goals in 518 appearances for both club and country.
He won the Ballon d'Or in 1991 while at Marseille. That season, the Frenchman helped his club clinch Ligue 1 and finish as runners-up in the European Cup.
He finished as the top scorer in Ligue 1 (23 goals) and joint-top scorer in the European Cup (six goals). He also won the inaugural IFFHS World's Best International Goal Scorer award that year.
#3 Karim Benzema
There was no doubt on who was going to clinch the 2022 Ballon d'Or. After a terrific 2021-22 campaign, France and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was the clear favorite to win the award.
The former Olympique Lyon man guided Los Blancos to La Liga and Champions League glory. His individual brilliance in the knockout stages against Paris Saint Germain (PSG), Chelsea, and Manchester City were some of the highlights of the season for the Frenchman.
He netted a whopping 44 goals and provided 15 assists in 46 games across competitions last term.
Benzema is the second player since 2008 (the other being Luka Modric) to break the Lionel Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo Ballon d'Or supremacy. He also became the oldest winner of the award in 66 years (aged 34 years and 10 months).
#2 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is arguably one of the best French players of all time. A complete playmaker known for his vision, ball control, passing and elegance.
The former Real Madrid gaffer is the only French footballer to have won all three of football's most coveted honors, namely the Ballon d'Or, UEFA Champions League, and FIFA World Cup.
He won the Ballon d'Or in 1998. That year, Zidane led Juventus to clinch the Serie A title and finish as runners-up in the Champions League. He also single-handedly won the World Cup for his country on home soil, scoring a brace in the final against Brazil.
#1 Michel Platini
Former UEFA President Michel Platini is one of the greatest footballers and most decorated French footballers of all time. He is the only France international with multiple Ballon d'Or wins.
Platini clinched the award in three consecutive editions (1983, 1984, and 1985) and this puts him top of the elite class. Most of his success came at Juventus, where he spent five years, winning two league titles, the European Cup, amongst other club honors.
