Top 5 clubs with the maximum Ballon d'Or wins

3. AC Milan (8 wins)

Kaka (R)

When Gianna Rivera finished 2nd in the 1963 Ballon d’Or, it was the first time that an AC Milan player had made it into the top 3 of the awards. The Italian secured 53 points and finished behind the legendary Lev Yashin of Dynamo Moscow. 6 years later, Rivera won 83 points and became the first AC Milan player to win the coveted award. Sadly, for the next 18 years, Milan players were absent from the top 3 places.

In 1987, Ruud Gullit became the second player from the Serie A side to win the award, managing 91 points. His win was significant because it kick-started a run of absolute dominance from Milan. For the next 2 years, the players from the Serie A side secure all 3 places in the top 3, marking a golden era of the club. Legendary Dutchman Marco van Basten won 2 consecutive Ballon d’Or awards, finishing with 129 points on both occasions.

Van Basten won the award once again in 1992, this time gathering 98 points to beat Barcelona’s Hristo Stoichkov and Ajax’s Dennis Bergkamp. Paolo Maldini finished 3rd in 1994 before George Weah won the award in 1995 with 144 points.

After a couple of 3rd place finishes, Andriy Shevchenko finally brought the award back to Milan in 2004, before Kaka won the award in 2007. The Brazilian was the last Milan player to win the award.

As of now, AC Milan have been home to 6 Ballon d’Or winners, who have won the award for a total of 8 times.