5 Barcelona stars apart from Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or

FC Barcelona is the most successful club to win the Ballon d’Or trophy. 6 Barcelona players have won it 11 times for the club making their trophy count 1 above the 10 trophies won by Real Madrid.

The most successful player to win the Ballon d’Or is definitely the superstar of FC Barcelona - Lionel Messi who had won it 5 times. But then, who were the other 5 players who had previously won the trophy 6 times for Barcelona? That’s why we are here for.

A look at the 5 Barcelona players apart for Lionel Messi who had won the coveted Ballon d’Or trophy.

#5 Luis Suárez - 1960

Luis Suarez â 1960 Ballon d'Or winner — Luis Suarez – 1960 Ballon d'Or winner

Not to be mistaken by the Uruguay footballer Luis Suarez, who also plays for FC Barcelona presently. Luis Suárez Miramontes was a Spanish footballer who played for Barcelona between 1955 and 1961. And he won the Ballon d’Or trophy in the year 1960 while he was at FC Barcelona to become the first Barcelona player to win the fancied trophy.

He appeared 122 times for Barcelona during those years and scored 61 times. He was noted for his elegant style of play in the midfield and was considered the most expensive footballer in 1961 when Inter Milan bought him from FC Barcelona.

1960 was not the only year in which he broke into the top 3 of Ballon d’Or. Luis Suárez was adjudged second best in 1961 and 1964, while he was third best in 1965. One interesting fact is that he lost the consecutive second Ballon d’Or in 1961 with Inter Milan for just 6 points. One might wonder, had he stayed back at FC Barcelona, wouldn't he have won it again?

He later turned Manager and went on to coach the Spanish National team and the Inter Milan side multiple times. Luis Suárez, though was more successful at Inter Milan than he was at FC Barcelona, he will remember the later club with a smile as he had won the Ballon d’Or trophy at FC Barcelona.

#4 Johan Cruyff - 1973, 1974

The legendary Dutch footballer was the only player other than Lionel Messi who had won Ballon d’Or trophy with FC Barcelona more than 1 time. In fact, Johan Cruyff had won Ballon d’Or trophy 3 times in his career. Earlier while he was playing for Ajax, he received the top honors in 1971.

Johan Cruyff played with Barcelona between 1973 and 1978 going on to score 48 goals from 143 appearances. He was also one of the rare players who later turned manager and got the chance to manage Barcelona. He was the commander in chief of Barcelona between 1988 and 1996.

He had also managed the Netherlands national team during his managerial career and was an exponent of Total Football. His style of football is said to have influenced the successful managers like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger, Pep Guardiola etc.

Johan Cruyff was not just a Barcelona star. He was someone who imprinted his legacy in football history.

#3 Hristo Stoichkov - 1994

Hristo Stoichkov played for FC Barcelona from 1990 to 1995 appearing 151 times and netting 76 goals in his first stint. He came back to Barcelona after playing for the Italian club Parma for a year and in his second stint at Barcelona, he scored 7 goals in 24 matches till 1998.

He is considered as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time and was also considered in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players, by Pele.

Stoichkov won the Ballon d’Or trophy in 1994 beating the likes of Paulo Maldini and Roberto Baggio with the backing of his superb show in the 1994 FIFA world cup in which he was the top scorer. He still remains as the only Bulgarian footballer in the history to win the Ballon d’Or trophy. He later went on to manage the Bulgarian national team.

#2 Rivaldo - 1999

Rivaldo won the Ballon d’Or trophy in 1999 while his stint at Barcelona. He beat David Beckham (Beckham was part of the 7 footballers who came second best and never won the Ballon d’Or trophy) and AC Milan legend Andriy Shevchenko to win it.

Rivaldo played for FC Barcelona between 1997 and 2002. He scored 130 goals for FC Barcelona and stands tall as 9th on the list of the highest goalscorers of Barcelona.

He was highly regarded for his terrific left foot play and the impeccable technique. It can be noted here that with Barcelona, Rivaldo won the 1998 and 1999 Spanish La Liga championship and the 1998 Copa del Rey tournament. Rivaldo later went on to play for A.C Milan and later for a string of Brazilian clubs.

Rivaldo was another name from the list of magnificent football stars that Brazilian grounds had produced.

#1 Ronaldinho - 2005

Ronaldinho played for FC Barcelona from 2003 - 2008 making 145 appearances. He scored 70 goals for the La Liga giants and won the Ballon d'Or in 2005 ahead of the England duo of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. Ronaldinho had previously come third best in 2004 in the Ballon d'Or race behind Andriy Shevchenko and his Barcelona team-mate Deco.

He was only the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans after playing an El Clasico match where he scored twice against Real Madrid in 2005.

Ronaldinho was also a wide exponent of - "Life is short, so enjoy it while you can"philosophy. One of the best exponents of the "Elastico" Move, his dribbling skills and the sheer energy and pace was a beautiful sight to watch. He later moved on to A.C.Milan and later went on to play for a string of Brazilian Clubs during the end of his career.

Edited by Sundaresh Kumar