The Ballon d’Or is arguably the most prestigious trophy awarded to players in football. Ever since 1956, this coveted award has been handed out a whopping 69 times over the last 70 years, canceled only once during the COVID pandemic. This year marks the 70th year since the award was first given to Blackpool’s Sir Stanley Matthews. In his honor, this year, the Ballon d’Or will be announced at the Palladium Theatre in London instead ofthe Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Sir Matthews has made unparalleled contributions to English football and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, where he established an all-black men’s football team.

Given how this year’s proceedings are heavily influenced by history, it is only fair that we also take a trip down the last several decades. Looking back, an interesting pattern emerges: there is a small group of clubs with decades of shared dominance over the Ballon d’Or.

To put it into perspective, long-time FC Barcelona player Lionel Messi has been awarded the trophy eight times, and Cristiano Ronaldo has received it five times. Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, and Marco van Basten have received it three times each. With Messi’s numbers, it becomes evident that Barcelona are high up on the list. But who are the clubs that actually have the most Ballon d’Ors?

Real Madrid are at the top of the list with 12 Ballon d’Ors, and player Karim Benzema won it most recently in 2022.

Real’s streak at the Ballon d’Or began in 1957, when Alfredo Di Stéfano first won it after winning both the European Cup and La Liga. Three years, three Ballon d’Ors—and they all went to Real. In 1958, it wasFrance national Raymond Kopa, and in 1959, Di Stéfano won it again. But this was going to be the last of it for another four decades.

The reasons were endless: the Ballon d’Or was only awarded to European nationals, and even when Real Madrid thrived, their best players were ineligible to receive it (Hugo Sánchez was Mexican and Fernando Redondo was Argentine). Additionally, the trophy was often only awarded to players who had prolific performances in the European Cup, and, well, Real were going through a rough patch. Barcelona, Ajax, and Bayern Munich were giving Real a run for their money, and Juventus and AC Milan were demolishing European competitors through the 1980s. In fact, the team from Madrid went through one of their worst trophy droughts between 1966 and 1998, when they failed to win a single European Cup.

However, the curse was broken in the year 2000 when Luis Figo won the Ballon d’Or, followed by Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. And then came Cristiano Ronaldo.

Coming off a Ballon d’Or win with Manchester United, Ronaldo assimilated with his new team fast enough to bag four awards (2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017). Arguably, not only was this the peak of his career, but it was also the most crucial few years in Madrid’s history. In 2018, Luka Modric won after a brilliant year for both his national team and club. Lastly, in 2022, Benzema brought Madrid to their 14th Champions League with perhaps the best performance of his career.

Moving over to their rivals at Barcelona, their story runs in parallel. Right after Di Stéfano last won it in 1959, Barcelona’s Luis Suárez swooped right in and won the award in 1960. Johan Cruyff brought it home in 1973 and 1974, where his national team may have lost to the Germans, but his club certainly did not. After the Italian dominance ofthe 1980s, Hristo Stoichkov was the first player in Spain to win the trophy in 1994.

In 1999, the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or were both bagged by Rivaldo. Ronaldinho accomplished the same feat in 2005. However, nothing compares to Lionel Messi’s crusades.

It was 2009 when he won his first-ever Ballon d’Or, coming off his incredible header that won Barcelona the Champions League against Manchester United. Featuring a treble, an incredible goal tally, and an unforgettable performance at El Clásico that year, Messi’s win came as no surprise. The following three years, he bagged three more. In 2010, he won his first European Golden Shoe with 60 goals and 17 assists. In 2011, he scored in the Champions League final yet again against Manchester United. In 2012, he set the world record for most goals: 79 for club and 12 for country, making a total of 91 goals.

In 2015, Messi made yet another treble happen with Luis Suárez and Neymar, winning the Ballon d’Or. In 2019, he carried a struggling squad across to the Champions League semi-final. Despite a stunning goal, he could not get his team past Liverpool to the final against Madrid. However, he did secure his sixth European Golden Shoe that year and won the Ballon d’Or following steep competition from Cristiano Ronaldo. This was the last time a Barcelona player won the award.

Bad pun aside, the Italian sides AC Milan and Juventus have eight Ballon d’Ors each.

Beforethe 1980s, when the two sides completely took over Europe, they each only had one player win it. For Juventus, it was Omar Sívori in 1961, and for Milan, it was Gianni Rivera in 1969.

The dominance that began in the 1980s has many factors behind it. Amounts of money unheard of in football were being poured into Italy, all thanks to influential media magnates and industrialists who ran the show. The Agnelli family kept Juventus running with large sums, and Silvio Berlusconi’s takeover of Milan in 1986 brought in massive capital. The money brought in the minds: Arrigo Sacchi in 1987 introduced the footballing philosophy that continues to run Italian teams to this day. Footballing superstars made the visions come true—players like Rossi, Platini, Van Basten, and Gullit made Italian football some of the best on the planet at that point.

Juventus started first and ended it first, too; the last time a player of theirs won the award was in 2003, when Pavel Nedvěd put forth an incredible season for both cluband country. In between, four players received the award six times. In 1982, it was Paolo Rossi, and from 1983 to 1985, Michel Platini won it thrice.In 1993, it was Roberto Baggio, and in 1998, Zinedine Zidane won it after winning the World Cup for France.

AC Milan, following Rivera’s win in 1969, also put forth an impressive list. In 1987, Berlusconi’s vision with Sacchi’s efforts bore fruit as the team won Serie A with newcomer Ruud Gullit. Gullit famously dedicated the award to Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned under the apartheid regime. The streak was to continue, and Marco van Basten ensured it. In 1988, 1989, and 1992, Van Basten won the award, and in 1995, it was George Weah. Following a brief dry run, Andriy Shevchenko won it in 2004, and Kaká won it in 2007—seasons that are remembered tothis day. However, that was the last of it.

In 2006, the Calciopoli scandal came to light, and the punishments were heavy: Juventus were stripped of their last two Serie A titles and relegated, while AC Milan, Fiorentina, and Lazio faced devastating point deductions. Against the backdrop of a league that was already financially unstable, a recovery to its glorious past became unlikely.

However, there was another team quietly working their way up in Europe.

In the footballing world, the 1970s had three main players: Barcelona, Ajax, and Bayern Munich. And who better to start off a new decade than Germany’s finest? In 1970, Gerd “der Bomber” Müller won the Ballon d’Or; in 1972 and 1976, it was Franz “der Kaiser” Beckenbauer. The last time a Bayern player won the Ballon d’Or was 1981, as Karl-Heinz “Kalle” Rummenigge won the award in 1980 and 1981. So what happened? Generations of superstars were, unfortunately, not enough for the world of football to take the German Bundesliga seriously.

However, things have changed. With Harry Kane’s nomination this year, hopes are high. If he can bring it home, it will be six—the same number of Champions League trophies Bayern currently has... which, too, is soon bound to change.

Or Lamine Yamal could win it and make Barcelona’s tally 12. I do not predict the future for a living, you know.