The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award in soccer ever since its inception in 1956.
Throughout its history, Barcelona have continuously strived to attract the biggest talents in the world to its squad. Many of the sport's greats have worn the Blaugrana shirt, making Barcelona one of the greatest soccer teams of all time.
No other club in the world have as many Ballon d'Or winners as Barcelona. Barça's biggest rivals, Real Madrid have the same number of men's winners with 12; however, the Catalans also have three winners in the women's side of the award. Barcelona also made history in 2010, when for the first time ever the three finalists were players from the same team. Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernández, all La Masia products, shared the podium.
Here's a list of all the Barcelona players to ever win the Ballon d'Or.
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Men's Winners
Lionel Messi (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)
The most decorated player in the sport leads the way with his record six Ballon d'Or wins for Barcelona—the record for a single club. He's responsible for half of Barça's men's Ballon d'Or wins.
Messi added another two after leaving Barcelona in 2021. His eight wins put him three above Cristiano Ronaldo for the most Ballon d'Or's ever. Messi is the only player to win the award in four consecutive years as he won it every year during the Pep Guardiola era in Barcelona.
The greatest player of all time delighted the Camp Nou for a decade and a half, becoming synonymous with the biggest individual award in the sport.
Ronaldinho (2005)
The Brazilian won the award after a magical year in 2005 where he guided Barcelona to its first La Liga title of the century.
His natural skill, blistering speed and magical dribbling ability enamored the world and he did it all with the biggest smile on his face. Ronaldinho also won the FIFA Confederations Cup that year with Brazil and closed out his Ballon d'Or winning campaign with a brace against Real Madrid in one of the most magical Clásico performances in history.
One of the biggest most recognizable soccer stars of the 21st century, Ronaldinho's magic reached its peak in 2005.
Rivaldo (1999)
Rivaldo became the second Brazilian to win the Ballon d'Or in 1999, guiding the Catalans to back-to-back La Liga titles.
Perhaps nowadays one of the less remembered players of the Brazil team that went to three straight FIFA World Cup finals, Rivaldo was a key component for Seleçao in 1998 and 2002.
During his Ballon d'Or winning season he was the difference maker in Louis van Gaal's Barcelona side that won the league. With Brazil, he won the 1999 Copa América, taking home the award for the best player in the tournament.
One of the best Brazilian players of all time didn't lack the quality and magic of his contemporaries. He won the award in a landslide over David Beckham and Andrei Shevshenko and three years later he conquered the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Hristo Stoichkov (1994)
Part of Barcelona's "Dream Team" that won four consecutive La Ligas and the club's first Champions League in 1992 under Dutch manager Johan Cruyff, Stoichkov was one of the best strikers of the 90s.
1994 was his best year. He scored a brace and assisted in the final match of the 1998–99 La Liga to give Barcelona the title and was key in taking the Blaugranas back to the Champions League final.
The 1994 World Cup was his crowing moment. He was the tournament's top goalscorer with six, and guided Bulgaria to a fourth place finish, the country's best result ever in the competition.
Temperamental, powerful and deadly in front of goal, Stoichkov will forever be part of Barcelona's rich history as one of its greatest ever forwards.
Johan Cruyff (1973 & 1974)
There's perhaps not a more influential figure to Barcelona than Johan Cruyff.
He arrived as a player to help Barcelona emerge from Real Madrid's shadow and won the league in his first season, its first in 14 years.
Cruyff won his second and third Ballon d'Ors during his first two years at Barcelona, having won his first in 1971 while at Ajax. In 1974 he was the leader of the Netherlands team that fell in the World Cup final to Germany, one of the greatest national teams ever assembled that failed to lift the sport's biggest trophy.
Cruyff is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time, but his influence in Barcelona goes even deeper. As a manager, he guided the Blaugranas to its first European trophy and is considered to be the person who established Barcelona's possession based attacking style, one that was emulated later on by his biggest prodigy: Pep Guardiola.
Although he's one of five players ever to win the Ballon d'Or more than two times, he made his feelings for the award very well known with one of his most iconic quotes: "Ballon d'Or? A bunch of journalists and people voting for their friends."
Luis Suárez (1960)
Not to be confused with the Uruguayan striker, Luis Suárez remains the only player born in Spain to ever win a men's Ballon d'Or.
Luis Suárez Miramontes was the fifth player to ever win the award and the first in Barcelona's history. He won the league that year and was given the award over Real Madrid great Ferenc Puskás.
He guided Barcelona to a European final where the Blaugranas fell to Benfica; however, Suárez would win the continental trophy later on in his career when he made the move to Inter Milan, a club where he became a legend.
Women's Winners
Aitana Bonmatí (2023)
Bonmatí had a spectacular 2023 when she won every competition she participated in with Barcelona and Spain.
With Barcelona she won a treble, lifting the Spanish Super Cup, La Liga and Champions League titles as the centerpiece of the team. She led the way with three goals and two assists in Spain's World Cup winning run, where she took home the player of the tournament award.
One of the greatest talents the women's game has ever seen, Bonmatí won the award at just 25-years-old and is one of the favorites to win it again this year as she continues to have a strong case of being the best women's player on the planet.
Alexia Putellas (2021 & 2022)
Putellas was fundamental to Barcelona's first ever WCL title in 2021. Her 26 goals guided Barcelona to its first ever women's treble.
In 2022 she was just as formidable, but an ACL injury ended her season midway through the year. However, the talent she displayed in the first half of the season was enough for her to become the first woman ever to win the Ballon d'Or in consecutive years.
She was part of the Barcelona team that won four titles in 2024, including a third WCL in four years.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Every Barcelona Player to Win the Ballon d'Or.
