The five French players who won the Ballon d'Or before Dembélé 5️⃣ | OneFootball

Ousmane Dembélé officially won the Ballon d'Or this Monday evening. The number 10 of Paris Saint-Germain has become the sixth Frenchman in history to claim the coveted prize.

Let us introduce you to the five previous winners!

1️⃣ Raymond Kopa

Two years. That’s the gap between the creation of this legendary individual award and the first triumph of a French player. In 1958, Raymond Kopa lifted the Ballon d'Or and thus became the first Frenchman to win this prestigious title.

Then an attacking midfielder for Real Madrid, Kopa won the European Cup (the predecessor of the Champions League) with Los Blancos and finished ahead of German striker Helmut Rahn in the Ballon d'Or rankings.

2️⃣ Michel Platini

Michel Platini is the only Frenchman to have won the Ballon d'Or three times. 1983, 1984, 1985. The French number 10 is also one of the few in football history to have claimed this trophy three times. Only Marco van Basten and Johann Cruyff share this achievement with the native of Joeuf, Lorraine. Lionel Messi (with his 7 titles) and Cristiano Ronaldo (with his 5 Ballon d'Ors) are, of course, in a league of their own.

Michel Platini's three triumphs all came while he was wearing the Juventus Turin shirt. With the Italian club, the French playmaker notably won the European Cup in 1985, the year of his last Ballon d'Or, finishing as the top scorer of that edition with seven goals.

3️⃣ Jean-Pierre Papin

Jean-Pierre Papin is, along with Ousmane Dembélé, the only French Ballon d'Or winner to have claimed the prize after a season spent playing for a French club.

The 1990-1991 season with Olympique de Marseille was marked by a French championship title, a Champions League final, and first place in the scoring charts of both competitions. Enough to win the 1991 Ballon d'Or by a wide margin.

4️⃣ Zinédine Zidane

Italian champion with Juve, Champions League finalist, and above all, world champion with Les Bleus, Zizou capped off an exceptional 1998 in the best possible way with this trophy.

A Ballon d'Or that was presented to him in the presence of Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, and Jean-Pierre Papin. Symbolic.

5️⃣ Karim Benzema

The most recent. Karim Benzema claimed his first Ballon d'Or in 2022 after an exceptional 2021-2022 season with Real Madrid. The “people’s” Ballon d'Or.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE - AFP or licensors