Has anyone won the Ballon d'Or after a trophyless season? | OneFootball

Despite a season without team silverware with Real Madrid or France, Kylian Mbappé remains among the frontrunners for the 70th Ballon d'Or after a successful World Cup.

According to L'Équipe, such scenarios are rare but not unprecedented, a point underlined as the France captain leads its online readers' poll.

Stanley Matthews, the award’s inaugural winner, was crowned in 1956 despite a barren club season. Denis Law followed in 1964, and Kevin Keegan did likewise in 1978.

From Portugal came more recent examples. In 2000, Luis Figo took the prize after a blank year, and 13 years later Cristiano Ronaldo collected his second Ballon d'Or without a team trophy.

One case stands apart. In 1970, Gerd Müller won the Ballon d'Or in a season without silverware, finishing as Europe’s top scorer and the World Cup’s leading marksman with 10 goals, despite not playing the final. The verdict on Mbappé arrives on 26 October.

Source: L'Équipe