Ballon d’Or: 5 Clubs That Have Produced Most Winners As Lionel Messi Wins 8th Award

• The 67th Ballon d'Or will be awarded on Monday evening, October 30
• Lionel Messi is the favourite to win his 8th award but will get stiff competition from Erling Haaland
• Sports Brief looks at the clubs with the most Ballon d'Or winners

The 2023 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced on Monday, October 30. Lionel Messi is widely expected to win his 8th Ballon d'Or award.

Few clubs have produced multiple Ballon d'Or winners, and Barcelona and Real Madrid are on top of that list. Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo account for 12 of those awards.

Messi has won the most Ballon d'Or awards, a feat which has cemented his status as the greatest footballer of all time.

The Ballon d'Or award is the most prestigious award in football, and every footballer dreams about winning it. It is an annual award by a French weekly magazine, France Football.

Wholesome moment Lionel Messi bragged to his eldest son about winning 7 Ballon d'Ors: Video

Football

England's Stanley Mathews was the first player to win the award in 1956. It has been held every year since then, apart from 2020, when it was cancelled due to Covid-19.

So, which club has produced the most Ballon d'Or winners? Sports Brief takes a look.

Clubs with most Ballon d'Or winners

5. Bayern Munich - 5

The German giants have produced three winners, Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Muller was the first to win it in 1970; Beckenbauer then won in it 1972 and 1976. Rummenigge won it twice in 1981 and 82. The club has not produced another winner of the award.

Robert Lewandowski was widely expected to win the 2020 award, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Olivier Kahn, Franck Ribery and Manuel Neuer reached the top three.

4. AC Milan - 8

AC Milan have produced six Ballon d'Or winners. Gianni Rivera was the first to win it in 1969. Dutch legend Ruud Gullit was next, he won it in 1987. Another Dutch icon, Marco van Basten, won the award three times in 1988, 1989 and 1992.

Ex-Chelsea star criticises Lionel Messi's potential Ballon d'Or victory

Football

George Weah became the first non-Erupean to win the award in 1995. Andriy Shevchenko won it in 2004 before Kaka took it in 2007, the last Milan player to win it.

3. Juventus - 8

Omar Sivori was the first Juventus player to win the award in 1961, then Paolo Rossi followed in 1982. French icon Michel Platini won three straight from 1983, 1984 and 1985.

Roberto Baggio won in 1993, Zinedine Zidane in 1998. Pavel Nedved took home the award in 2003, the last Juventus player to win it this century.

2. Real Madrid - 12

Alfredo Di Stéfano was the first Real Madrid player to win the Ballon d’Or in 1957 and the second player to win the award. He won it again in 1959. Others were Raymond Kopa in 1958, Luis Figo in 2000, Ronaldo Nazario in 2002, Fabio Cannavaro in 2006), Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, Luka Modric in 2018 and now Karim Benzema in 2022.

2023 Ballon d'Or: Result reportedly leaked online as Messi is crowned winner

Football

1. Barcelona - 12

25-year-old Luis Suárez was the first Barcelona player to win it in 1960. Johan Cruyff then won it in 1973 and 1974. They had to wait for two decades for their player to win it. Hristo Stoitckov took it in 1994, then Rivaldo five years later. Ronaldinho won in 2005 before the Messi era began.

Messi won four in a row from 2009 to 2012. He then won it in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Barcelona legend's Ballon d'Or favourites

Sports Brief also reported on a Barcelona legend snubbing Messi for Ballon d'Or 2023, by omitting the Argentine from his list of preferred winners.

The veteran is highly expected to challenge for a record-extending eighth title at this year's awards after guiding his nation to a FIFA World Cup victory.

However, Patrick Kluivert believes three other players deserve the 2023 individual gong more than Barcelona's most decorated player in club history.