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The Ballon dOr was an award which was started in 1956 by France Footballs chief magazine editor. Originally, journalists could only vote for European players playing in Europe, meaning players like Diego Maradona and Pele were ineligible for the award.In 1995, a change in rule meant that non-European players playing in Europe were also eligible for the award. The first winner after the rule change was George Weah of Liberia in the same year. In 2007, the rule changed again and any player in the world was eligible for the award and the number of voting journalists also increased.The Ballon dOr and the FIFA Player of the year were merged in 2010 and became the FIFA Ballon dOr. It is awarded based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams as well journalists from around the world.So which country has seen its players win the award the most? Where do the South American countries stand on the list despite being ineligible for the award for almost four decades?
#10 Spain 3
The first Spaniard to win the award was Alfredo Di Stefano in 1957. Although DI Stefano was an Argentine by birth, he adopted Spain as his country in 1956 and it was after that he won the Ballon d’Or. He also became the first Real Madrid player and the second overall to win the award. Di Stefano won the award a second time in 1959.
The second and the last Spaniard to win the award was Luis Suarez in 1960. Yes, there was another Luis Suarez who played for Barcelona.
After Suarez won the award in 1960, no Spaniard has won the award in over half a century.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Alfredo Di Stefano | Real Madrid | 1957 and 1959 |
| Luis Suarez | Barcelona | 1960 |
#9 Soviet Union 3
Up until 1991, there existed a country called the Soviet Union. In 1991 the unified country was split into different countries for political reasons. But when the Soviet Union was in existence, three players from the country won the award.
The first player from the Soviet Union to win the award was Lev Yashin who is considered by many as the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. In 1963, when Yashin received the award, he became the first goalkeeper to win the honour and till date is the only goalkeeper to win the award.
The next two Soviet Union players to win the award were Oleg Blokhin and Igor Belanov in 1975 and 1986 respectively. Both players played for Dynamo Kyiv, which is now a professional club in Ukraine, while the club for which Lev Yashin played for is now in Russia.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow | 1963 |
| Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv | 1975 |
| Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv | 1986 |
#8 Argentina 5
The Ballon d’Or has gone to an Argentine player on five occasions but the winner on all four occasions was Lionel Messi.
Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009. This was also the last award before it was renamed as FIFA Ballon d’Or. No player has won the award more times than the Argentine and he also won it in four consecutive years.
In 2015, he was the overwhelming favourite to win for a record-extending fifth time and duly did so.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015 |
#7 England 5
The first ever player to win the prestigious honour was an Englishman. Stanley Mathews of Blackpool was the winner of the inaugural Ballon d’Or in 1956 and he narrowly beat Alfredo Di Stefano for the award.
A decade later in 1966, Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton became the second Englishman to win the award. In 1978 and 1979, former Newcastle United and England manager Kevin Keegan won the award while playing for Hamburg in Germany.
Although Keegan won the award with Hamburg, he is widely remembered for his time with Liverpool. The last Englishman to receive the award was Michael Owen in 2001 while playing for Liverpool.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Stanley Mathews | Blackpool | 1956 |
| Bobby Charlton | Manchester United | 1966 |
| Kevin Keegan | Hamburg | 1978 & 1979 |
| Michael Owen | Liverpool | 2001 |
#6 Brazil 5
Although Brazilian players were not eligible for the award till 1995, the South Americans are still fifth in the list. The first Brazilian to win the award was none other than Ronaldo. The prolific striker won the award for the first time in 1997 with Internazionale and then a second time in 2002 while playing for Real Madrid, but it was his performance at the 2002 World Cup that helped him win the award.
Rivaldo was the second Brazilian to win the award and he won it in 1999 while playing for Barcelona. In 2005, Ronaldinho became the third Brazilian to win the award and he too won the award while playing for the Catalan club.
The last Brazilian to win the award was Kaka with AC Milan in 2007. Interestingly, all the four Brazilians who won the award were part of the Brazil team that won the World Cup in 2002.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Ronaldo | Internazionale & Real Madrid | 1997 & 2002 |
| Rivaldo | Barcelona | 1999 |
| Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 2005 |
| Kaka | AC Milan | 2007 |
#5 Italy 5
Italian players have won the award on five different occasions and five different players have won the award. The first player to win it was Omar Sivori of Juventus in 1961 and Gianni Rivera of AC Milan made in two for Italy in 1969.
The next two Italians to win the award were also Juventus players. The first was Paolo Rossi in 1982 and the second was Roberto Baggio in 1993.
The last Italian to win the award was Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. Although Cannavaro was a Real Madrid player when he received the award, he had played the first half of 2006 with Juventus. Interestingly Juventus and AC Milan are also the clubs who have won the Ballon d’Or the most.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Omar Sivori | Juventus | 1961 |
| Gianni Rivera | AC Milan | 1969 |
| Paolo Rossi | Juventus | 1982 |
| Roberto Baggio | Juventus | 1993 |
| Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid | 2006 |
#4 Portugal - 6
Three different Portuguese players have won the award and they are easily the biggest three names in football from the country. The first Portuguese player to win the award was Eusebio in 1965. After Eusebio, the second Portuguese player to win the award was Luis Figo in 2000 when he narrowly beat Zidane to the award.
In 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo won his first Ballon d’Or playing for Manchester United to make it three for Portugal and he won the award again on successive occasions in 2013 and 2014 for Real Madrid before winning it again in 2016.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Eusebio | Benfica | 1965 |
| Luis Figo | Real Madrid | 2000 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United & Real Madrid | 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2016 |
#3 France 6
Raymond Kopa was the first Frenchman, the second Real Madrid player and the third overall to win the award when he won the award in 1958.
It took a quarter of a century for the second Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or. Former UEFA president Michel Platini was the winner in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Platini was the first player to win a hat-trick of awards and he won all three while playing for Juventus.
In 1991, Jean-Pierre Papin won the award while playing for Marseille and to date is the only winner from the France’s Ligue 1.
The last French player to win the award was none other than Zinedine Zidane in 1998 and he too won the award while playing for Juventus.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Raymond Kopa | Real Madrid | 1958 |
| Michel Platini | Juventus | 1983, 1984 and 1985 |
| Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 1991 |
| Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 1998 |
#2 Netherlands 7
The award has gone to Netherlands seven times although only three different players have won the award.
Johan Cruyff was the first Dutchman to win the award. Cruyff’s first honour was in 1971 while playing for Ajax and he won the award two more times in 1973 and 1974 while playing for Barcelona. He was the first person to win the award three times.
In 1987, Ruud Gullit of AC Milan won the award and became the second Dutchman to win the honour. Marco van Basten won the award in 1988 and 1989 to make it a hat-trick for AC Milan. He won a personal third in 1992 and became the third player to win the award three times after Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Johan Cruyff | Ajax & Barcelona | 1971, 1973 & 1974 |
| Ruud Gullit | AC Milan | 1987 |
| Marco van Basten | AC Milan | 1988, 1989 and 1992 |
#1 Germany 7
German players have won the award seven times and are tied for first place with Netherlands. But five different German players have won the award in comparison to three different Dutch players.
The first German player to win the award was Gerd Muller in 1970. Muller was playing for Bayern Munich when he won the award and two years later in 1972, another Bayern Munich player won the award- Franz Beckenbauer and he won the award again in 1976 to take Germany’s tally to three.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge was the third German to win the award and he too was playing for Bayern Munich when he won the award. Rummenigge won the award two years in a row in 1980 and 1981.
Lothar Matthaus won the award in 1990 while playing for Internazionale. Matthaus was a Bayern Munich player before and after his spell with Internazionale.
The last German to win the award was Matthias Sammer. Sammer won the award in 1996 while playing for Borussia Dortmund and he is the only German to have won the award and not played for Bayern Munich. But interestingly he became the Sporting director of Bayern Munich.
| Player | Team | Year |
| Gerd Muller | Bayern Munich | 1970 |
| Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich | 1972 & 1976 |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich | 1980 & 1981 |
| Lothar Matthaus | Internazionale | 1990 |
| Matthias Sammer | Borussia Dortmund | 1996 |
