Top 5 clubs with the maximum Ballon d'Or wins

1. Real Madrid (11 wins)

Cristiano Ronaldo

Real Madrid’s association with the Ballon d’Or award started quite early. The Spanish giants had 2 players in the top 3 in the very first rendition of the award in 1956, which was won by Englishman Stanley Matthews, who was playing for Blackpool at that time. Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who had finished second at that time, won the award in the following year, becoming the first Real Madrid and the first Spanish player to win the award. Real Madrid players won the award for the next couple of seasons, with Raymond Kopa finishing first in 1958 and Di Stefano winning his second the following year.

From then on though, Real Madrid could only break into the top 3 on 6 occasions for the next 40 years and never finished top. Therefore, when Luis Figo won the award in 2000 while playing for Los Blancos, it was a huge achievement. Brazilian sensation Ronaldo won the award in 2002 before Fabio Cannavaro lifted the top prize in 2006, all while playing for Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo, who had already won the Ballon d’Or with Manchester United in 2008, joined Real Madrid in 2009 but came second behind Messi for the next few years.

In 2013, the Portuguese reinstated Real Madrid’s status as one of the biggest clubs of the world by reclaiming the Ballon d’Or. He won 3 of the next 4 awards before another Real Madrid player, Luka Modric, won the award last year.

As of now, 7 Real Madrid players have won the Ballon d’Or, the most from any club and they have won it 11 times in total.