At the end of another scintillated football season, the attention of critics and fans turned to individual awards. The Golden Ball remains the most prestigious award offered to male players, and this time there has been excessive debate over who deserves the award.
Barcelona and Argentina mascot Lionel Messi tops the list of many fans. The Catalan giants went through the club season 2020-21, which led them to win only the Spanish Cup. But Messi was exceptionally great and won the Pichichi Award (he scored 30 goals in 35 league games), topping the La Liga top scorers table. Burga then the top scorer in the 2021 America’s Cup and won the “Best Player of the Tournament” awards.
Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski is another fan for the Ballon d’Or. Polish striker Gerd Müller has set a new Bundesliga season record of 40 goals, with Bayern winning the league title. But Bayern failed to deepen in the UEFA Champions League and failed to win the DFB Pokal either.
If Lewandowski wins this award, it will be his first Ballon d’Or. However, if Messi has to win it, this award will be the record-breaking seventh victory for the Argentine. While winning the Ballon d’Or once is considered a great achievement in itself, winning the award multiple times is a testament to the consistency these players have shown. So far, only 10 players have won the award several times.
Here’s a look at five legendary players who have won the Ballon d’Or several times. They were selected based on how many times they won the award and their tremendous impact on the beautiful game.
# 5 Ronaldo Nazario (two-time Ballon d’Or winner)
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