Ballon d'Or winners by league

The Ballon d'Or is approaching 70 years old with a wide array of different players having claimed the prize since its first edition in 1956.

It has travelled to many different corners of the world and has been won by some of the most incredible footballers to grace the field, with Lionel Messi unrivalled at the top of the standings with eight victories.

Many of his triumphs came with Barcelona - although not all - and Spanish football has frequently found itself the home of the Ballon d'Or victor over the past 15 years.

Let's take a look at the leagues with the most Ballon d'Or wins in history.

Ballon d'Or winners by league

La Liga - 24 wins

La Liga is the most successful league for Ballon d'Or wins, raking in 24 over the years.

Just under half of those have come courtesy of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo throughout the late 2000s and 2010s, though Johan Cruyff and Alfredi Di Stefano also scored multiple wins at Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively.

No player outside of Spain's Clasico rivals has claimed the accolade.

Serie A - 18 wins

Serie A follow close behind thanks to their spate of victories in the 1980s and 1990s.

The now-disgraced Michel Platini won the award three years on the trot with Juventus, while the city of Milan also boast winners like Ruud Gullit, Marco van Basten and Lothar Matthaus.

There hasn't been a winner from Serie A since 2007, when Kaka scooped the gong while playing for Milan.

Bundesliga - 9 wins

Some German greats have also enjoyed success in the Ballon d'Or, with national team heroes Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge each scooping the award twice.

Former England midfielder Kevin Keegan was also widely seen as the best player in the world during the late 1970s and won two awards with Hamburg.

English First Division/Premier League - 6 wins

While their teams have won their fair share of European Cups and Champions Leagues, the old First Division and Premier League only have a select number of Ballon d'Or wins.

Cristiano Ronaldo's win with Manchester United and Michael Owen's success with Liverpool are the only 21st century victories, while Blackpool's Stanley Matthews won the first ever award.

Soviet Top League - 3 wins

Teams that were part of the Soviet Union still have a better record in the Ballon d'Or than most existing nations.

Lev Yashin triumphed with Dynamo Moscow and remains the only goalkeeper ever to win the award, though Ukrainians Dynamo Kyiv were more successful with two victories.

Ligue 1 - 2 wins

Jean-Pierre Papin was Ligue 1's first winner thanks to his performances with Marseille in 1991, with Messi adding a second triumph in 2021.

MLS - 1 win

Did Messi's performances for Inter Miami win him the 2023 Ballon d'Or? No. Was he at David Beckham's franchise when he lifted the iconic trophy for a record-breaking eighth time? Hell to the yeah.

Czechoslovak First League

Josef Masopust of Dukla Prague is the sole representative from the Czechoslovak First League, a division he won eight times.

He led Czechoslovakia to third place at the 1960 Euros and runners-up at the 1962 World Cup.

Hungarian League

Florian Albert is a Hungarian football legend who won the Ballon d'Or in 1967 while at Ferencvaros, where he spent all of his professional career.

In 1967, he won the Hungarian league title and and also collected the Hungarian Player of the Year title.

Eredivisie

Ajax fans could easily claim Johan Cruyff's two further Ballon d'Or wins with Barcelona as their own, but alas, we find no room for such sentiment.

Cruyff's win remains the Dutch club's only Ballon d'Or winner, though Dennis Bergkamp and Jari Litmanen later finished in the top three of voting.

Primeira Liga

Easily one of the best players in world football during the 1960s, Eusebio was ridiculously prolific for both Benfica and Portugal.

He scooped the award in 1965 and was also a runner up in both 1962 and 1966.

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