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#3 Ruud Gullit
Former Ballon d'Or winner Ruud Gullit is widely renowned for his exploits for AC Milan and Netherlands. The same helped Gullit win the Ballon d'Or award in 1987, the year after Belanov's triumph.
Gullit joined AC Milan in 1987 from PSV, where he won back-to-back Eredivisie titles and scored 53 goals across two seasons. Gullit, in his debut season at Milan, helped the club to their first Serie A title in nine years. Playing predominantly on the right wing, Gullit scored 13 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign for Milan.
Gullit's performances with PSV in his final season as well as his exploits at AC Milan saw him win the Ballon d'Or award in 1987. He spent five more seasons in Italy, with AC Milan winning eight more trophies, before Gullit joined Sampdoria in 1993.
#2 Jean-Pierre Papin
Jean-Pierre Papin won the Ballon d'Or award in 1991 while at Marseille. The Frenchman is the only player to win the Ballon d'Or while playing for a French club.
Papin returned to France in 1986 after spending a highly prolific season in Belgium with Club Brugge. The French striker managed just 14 goals in his debut campaign and 23 in his next for Marseille. He, however, picked up the pace in his third season, hitting the 30-goal mark for four consecutive campaigns.
In the 1990-91 season, Papin helped Marseille to a third straight Ligue 1 title as well as a spot in the Champions League final. He finished as the French league's top scorer for a fourth consecutive season. He also was the Champions League top scorer for a second consecutive campaign.
Papin was crowned the Ballon d'Or winner in 1991 ahead of Inter Milan's Lothar Matthaus and Yugoslavians Darko Pancev and Dejan Savicevic.
#1 Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer might not be a name that rings bells, but the German beat Ronaldo Nazario and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer to the Ballon d'Or award in 1996. The quality of the competition Sammer beat is testament enough to his performances that year.
Sammer, in the early days of his career, played further up the pitch. However, in his first full season at Borussia Dortmund, he was moved to central defence, and the switch worked wonders for his side.
The defender helped Dortmund to consecutive Bundesliga and DFB Super Cup titles. After winning a domestic double with Dortmund in 1996, Sammers represented Germany in the European Championship that summer. He helped Germany win the competition and was named the Player of the Tournament.
The individual and team accolades Sammer gathered in 1996 culminated in the German winning the Ballon d'Or award. In the process, Sammer became the first defender to win the award since his compatriot Franz Beckenbauer.
