10 Essential Ballon d'Or facts that you need to know

#9 Only three defenders have been voted as the winners so far

Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro was the last defender to win the Golden Ball in 2006 after he won the World Cup with Italy.

Before him, only two other defenders had won the prestigious award, they were Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, both of Germany and the former claimed the trophy on two occasions, in 1972 and 1976.

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#10 Only 8 Ballon d'Or recipients have won both the World Cup and UEFA Champions League

Zidane has won the World Cup, Champions League and the Ballon d'Or in his illustrious career.

Two of the biggest players at the Ballon d'Or awards are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Both have won the trophy 5 times each, but both of them are yet to win a World Cup with their nations, despite immense success at club level including multiple Champions League triumphs.

Players like Ronaldo Nazario and Cannavaro have won the World Cup, but success in the Champions League had evaded them.

And there are just 8 Ballon d'Or winning players who have won the biggest international competition with their countries and the biggest competition with their club in their careers.

The players are - Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaká.