Players to have won the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or in the same year

The most prestigious individual honour in football, the Ballon d'Or crowns the world's best player over the course of a season.

As the most reputable club competition in world football, the performances of players in the UEFA Champions League can often have a significant say in who is awarded in the Ballon d'Or.

We examine the list of 13 players to have completed an enviable UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or double in the same year.

Players to have won the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or in the same year

• Alfredo Di Stefano (1957 & 1959)

Recognised as an all-time great of Real Madrid, the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano won the European Cup and Ballon d'Or in 1957 in what was only the second year of each prize's existence.

A complete forward, Di Stefano was part of the Los Blancos side which defended its European Cup title in 1957 following the establishment of the competition in 1956, with the Buenos Aires-born magician also becoming the second ever Ballon d'Or winner following Englishman Stanley Matthews.

Di Stefano netted from the spot to open the scoring in a 2-0 win for Real Madrid over Fiorentina in the 1957 European Cup final, which was held at the Spanish giants' home of the Santiago Bernabeu.

Famously representing three different countries during his international career - Argentina, Colombia and Spain - another European Cup final goal in a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid against Reims at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart was enough to see him replicate his exploits of 1957 and claim the Ballon d'Or for a second time.

• Raymond Kopa (1958)

Sandwiched between Di Stefano's two Ballon d'Or wins was fellow Real Madrid legend Raymond Kopa's crowning year.

The third of Los Blancos' five successive European Cup victories between 1956 and 1960, Real overcame Milan 3-2 after extra-time in the 1958 final at Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

Diminutive attacking midfielder Raymond Kopa was a key cog in this Real Madrid machine of 1958 having arrived from Reims in his homeland two years previously, with the Frenchman's influence in manager Luis Camiglia's side seeing him land the coveted Ballon d'Or award.

• George Best (1968)

1968 saw Manchester United become the first English club to win the European Cup with a 4-1 triumph over Benfica after extra-time in a final fittingly held at Wembley Stadium.

One of the goalscorers in the European Cup final for Matt Busby's charges was fleet-footed Northern Irish winger George Best.

One-third of Man Utd's 'Holy Trinity' alongside Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, Best was awarded the 1968 Ballon d'Or after netting an outstanding 32 goals in all competitions for the Red Devils.

• Gianni Rivera (1969)

The second most successful club in European Cup history, Italian giants Milan won the competition for a second time in 1969 following a 4-1 victory over Ajax in the final at the Santiago Bernabeu.

A legendary long-time captain of Milan, creative playmaker Gianni Rivera skippered the Milan outfit which lifted Europe's biggest club prize in 1969.

Rivera's sensational performance in the 1969 European Cup final, in which he assisted two of Pierino Prato's three goals in a number 10 position, saw the Italy international end the year as the Ballon d'Or winner.

• Johan Cruyff (1971)

Arguably the best footballer of the 1970s, Dutch maestro Johan Cruyff was awarded the 1971 Ballon d'Or after playing a leading role in hometown club Ajax's European Cup-winning campaign, with the Amsterdam giants beating Panathinaikos 2-0 in the Wembley final.

The undisputed star player in Rinus Michels' swashbuckling Ajax side, very much part of the famed 'Total Football' era in the Netherlands of the 1970s, Cruyff's 1971 Ballon d'Or win was the first of a hat-trick as he went on to claim the prize again in 1973 and 1974.

• Franz Beckenbauer (1976)

Another of the most defining players of the 1970s, German football icon Franz Beckenbauer became the first defender to win the Ballon d'Or in 1976.

'Der Kaiser' was the captain of an outstanding Bayern Munich side featuring fellow legends in the form of Uli Hoeness and Gerd Muller which won three successive European Cups between 1974 and 1976.

A complete footballer, Beckenbauer is widely credited as revolutionising the role of a centre-back, referred to as a 'sweeper' or 'libero' who was capable of acting as a playmaker from the heart of defence.

• Michel Platini (1985)

Frenchman Michel Platini won the Ballon d'Or for a third consecutive year in 1985 after inspiring Juventus to the European Cup as the sole goalscorer in a 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

One of the finest French footballers of all time, Platini was an attacking midfielder with sublime technical ability, capable of unlocking defences with killer passes and popping up with pivotal goals.

• Marco van Basten (1989)

The focal point of Arrigo Sacchi's all-conquering Milan side of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Marco van Basten was undoubtedly one of the best strikers of his generation.

Part of an esteemed trio of Dutch players known as the 'Three Musketeers' along with Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit, Van Basten scored a brace in the 1989 European Cup final in a 4-0 win for the Rossoneri over Steaua Bucharest at the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

The 6ft 2ins Van Basten hit 32 goals in all competitions in total in 1988/89 in a campaign which ended with the Euro '88 winner receiving the Ballon d'Or.

• Kaka (2007)

An elegant attacking midfielder with the dribbling ability and power to cut through opposition ranks with ease at the peak of his powers for Milan, Brazilian Kaka followed up his first and only UEFA Champions League title win in 2007 by landing the Ballon d'Or award.

Assisting one of Pippo Inzaghi's two goals in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, it was in the semi-finals of the tournament where Kaka's star shone brightest - scoring three goals across two legs against Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United.

• Cristiano Ronaldo (2008, 2014, 2016 & 2017)

A five-time winner of the Ballon d'Or, Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo paired the award with a UEFA Champions League title on four occasions.

The first time he completed this double of prizes was in 2008, with Ronaldo Manchester United's star man as the Red Devils claimed their third UEFA Champions League title at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow after overcoming Chelsea on penalties.

Unquestionably one of the very best footballers of all time, Ronaldo scooped the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or in the same year three more times whilst a Real Madrid player - in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

• Lionel Messi (2009, 2011 & 2015)

The long-time nemesis of Ronaldo, with the peerless duo far and away the two outstanding players of their generation, Argentine legend Lionel Messi won the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or in the same year on three occasions.

The first time Messi achieved this was in 2009, with the Argentine World Cup winner scoring an iconic header in a 2-0 triumph for Barcelona over Manchester United at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome as the Catalans claimed the Treble in Pep Guardiola's first season as manager.

Messi went on to complete this rare double of the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d'Or twice more as a Barcelona player - in 2011 and 2015.

• Luka Modric (2018)

The first player in a decade not named Ronaldo or Messi to be awarded the Ballon d'Or, Croatian playmaker received the award in 2018 off the back of a terrific campaign for club and country.

The midfield maestro was a vital figure as Real Madrid won a third consecutive UEFA Champions League title following a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the final at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, while Modric also captained Croatia to a first ever World Cup final in 2018 before his country were downed 4-2 by France in Moscow.

• Karim Benzema (2022)

Becoming the eighth Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d'Or, Frenchman Karim Benzema enjoyed a sensational scoring run in the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League as Los Blancos sealed their 14th title.

Frenchman Benzema netted a remarkable 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as Carlo Ancelotti's side found a way past Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City before Vinicius Jr bagged the winner in a 1-0 success over Liverpool in the final at the Stade de France.

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