The first Ballon d’Or winner remains the oldest. Stanley Matthews won the inaugural award in 1956 at the age of 41.
However, at the other end of the spectrum, there have been some remarkably youthful previous winners. While no teenager has claimed football’s most coveted individual award, there have at least been a number of up-and-coming world beaters who have been crowned the best on the planet at a tender age.
Only one Ballon d’Or winner has received the award before their 22nd birthday, heading a list of young superstars who have revolutionized football over the years.
Here are the youngest Ballon d’Or winners ever
year: 1971
club: Ajax
age: 24 years, 8 months and 3 days
One of the most transformative figures in 20th century football, Johan Cruyff’s exceptional talent was recognized by France Football – the distributors of the Ballon d’Or since its inception – on multiple occasions while leading the Total Football revolution.
Cruyff quickly gained superstar status around the world after emerging in his native Netherlands in the 1960s, with his first Ballon d’Or triumph coming in 1971 while still wearing the red and white of the Ajax.
Around four months before his 25th birthday, Cruyff received the first of three Ballon d’Or awards after winning the European Cup with the Amsterdam side in the year of their first victory.
year: 1988
club: AC Milan
age: 24 years, 1 month and 27 days
Cruyff is undoubtedly the most talented and famous footballer the Netherlands have ever produced, but he is not the youngest Ballon d’Or winner in the country’s illustrious history. It is an honor granted to Marco van Basten.
Like his legendary compatriot, Van Basten also finished his career with three Ballon d’Or to his name, the first of which came in 1988, as he achieved something Cruyff never did: win the Championship of ‘Europe with the Oranje.
While also impressing in the colors of Italian giants AC Milan, the prolific Dutch striker fought off competition from fellow internationals Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard to claim the award.
this the volley in the Euro 88 final probably helped.
year: 1965
club: Benfica
age: 23 years, 11 months and 3 days
Portugal’s Iberian neighbors Spain had dominated much of the Ballon d’Or voting in their first decade, but Eusebio interrupted their success. After finishing runner-up in 1962 to Czechoslovakia’s Josef Masopust, the legendary Benfica marksman finally achieved his victory three years later.
Mozambique-born Eusebio became the first black player to win the award after a sensational 1965 which saw him score at an astonishing rate. In the 1964/65 season, the Benfica star scored 48 goals in 36 games in all competitions.
Eusebio was nearing his 24th birthday when he won football’s most prestigious individual honour, following his victory with another runner-up the following year when Portugal finished third at the 1966 World Cup.
year: 2008
club: Manchester United
age: 23 years, 9 months, 29 days
Just surpassing his international predecessor, Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s youngest Ballon d’Or winner. The first of his five triumphs came in 2008 with Manchester Unitedcapping off a terrifying year for one of football’s all-time greats.
Ronaldo had won the Premier League and Champions League double with the Red Devils at the end of the 2007/08 campaign. He scored in the latter’s final against Chelsea after producing a record 31 goals in a 38-game Premier League season.
The following year, Ronaldo earned a lucrative move to Real Madrid, with the Santiago Bernabéu his home for four subsequent Ballon d’Or wins.
year: 1975
club: Dynamo Kyiv
age: 23 years, 1 month and 25 days
Born in modern Ukraine, Oleg Blokhin became the second of three Ballon d’Or winners for the Soviet Union. Lev Yashin preceded his victory by 12 years and Igor Belanov would claim victory just over a decade after Blokhin’s stunning triumph.
Blokhin quickly established himself as a relentless goalscorer and provider during his early career with Dynamo Kyiv, scoring 89 goals in his first four full seasons with the club. 23 of those efforts came in 1975, when Dynamo Kyiv won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup.
Although Blokhin scored the highest in 1976, he only managed a 19th place the year after his victory.
year: 1968
club: Manchester United
age: 22 years, 7 months and 2 days
One of the first British footballers to transcend the game, Man Utd legend George Best remains the only Northern Irishman to win the Ballon d’Or. It is unlikely that any of his countrymen will join in the foreseeable future.
When Man Utd became the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968, it was Best who won the most plaudits with his consistent goals, dazzling darts down the wing and natural looks . He scored in extra time in the Red Devils’ 4-1 win over Benfica in the same final.
It was the crowning achievement of the late Best’s outstanding but troubled career, with the Northern Ireland icon finishing third in the Ballon d’Or three years later during the latter stages of his Man Utd career.
year: 2009
club: Barcelona
age: 22 years, 5 months and 7 days
No man has ever won the Ballon d’Or more often than Lionel Messi, with eight triumphs unlikely to be matched. Only two players have won the award at a younger age, with the diminutive wizard claiming his maiden award in 2009 at the age of 22.
Messi was the talisman for Barcelona as they won a historic and unprecedented sextuple, including La Liga, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup titles. Pep Guardiola’s team finished the year champions of Spain, Europe and the world.
Messi scored in the final of the Copa del Rey, the Champions League and the Club World Cup to help Barça achieve one of the most sensational feats in football history. The scariest thing is that it wasn’t even Messi’s best individual year in Catalonia.
year: 2001
club: Liverpool
age: 22 years, 0 months and 4 days
Michael Owen is the most recent Englishman to win the Ballon d’Or and the only player to do so while playing for Liverpool. He is also the second youngest winner of the award after bursting onto the scene in the late 1990s and enjoying an incredibly productive 2001.
The relentless goalscorer helped Liverpool win a treble at the turn of the century, with the League Cup, FA Cup and UEFA Cup brought to Merseyside at the end of the 2000/01 season. Owen finished the campaign as the club’s top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions.
But it was Owen’s display in the FA Cup final that season that caught the most attention. The England international scored in the 83rd minute and then in the 88th to secure a 2-1 comeback win against Arsenal in the landmark event at the Millennium Stadium.
year: 1997
club: Inter
age: 21 years, 3 months and 5 days
Ronaldo truly earned the name “O Fenomeno” (The Phenomenon). The Brazilian’s performances for club and country were astonishing early in his career, with his own body the only thing stopping him from becoming the greatest footballer the world has ever seen.
Naturally, Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or, and not just once. His first triumph in 1997 came during his time at Inter, and he became the youngest ever winner at 21.
The striker’s next accolade came in 2002 after a sensational World Cup, with the Brazilian dynamo scoring twice in the final against Germany as the South Americans were crowned world champions. He finished the tournament with the Golden Boot.
Ronaldo would have won his first Ballon d’Or at an even younger age after being crowned FIFA Footballer of the Year in 1996, but the FIFA award was not subsumed by the Ballon d’Or until 2010 .
