Winning the ‘Ballon d'Or’ is every footballer’s dream. It’s like reaching the top and going down in sporting history for ever. But…

How difficult is it to stay at the top and win this prestigious award again?

How long might it take to win the trophy again?

If we look at history, winning a second Ballon d'Or is an achievement reserved for a very select group of clubs.

The multiple winners of the Ballon d'Or

To put this into perspective, we must first recall who the only 10 footballers are who have managed to win this award on more than one occasion, along with the years in which they were honoured:

  • Lionel Messi (8): 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023.

  • Cristiano Ronaldo (5): 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017.

  • Michel Platini (3): 1983, 1984, 1985.

  • Johan Cruyff (3): 1971, 1973, 1974.

  • Marco van Basten (3): 1988, 1989, 1992.

  • Franz Beckenbauer (2): 1972, 1976.

  • Ronaldo Nazário (2): 1997, 2002.

  • Alfredo Di Stéfano (2): 1957, 1959.

  • Kevin Keegan (2): 1978, 1979.

  • Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (2): 1980, 1981.

The most common pattern: a wait of 1 or 2 years

When analysing the data, a very clear pattern emerges: the vast majority of multiple winners wait almost no time at all to win again.

The most common interval between the first and second ‘Ballon d'Or’ is just 1 or 2 years. Seven out of ten footballers have followed this pattern.

Players such as Lionel Messi, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Kevin Keegan and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge achieved this in consecutive years following their first victory.

Johan Cruyff and Alfredo Di Stéfano, on the other hand, had to wait two years to lift the trophy again.

This shows that, when a footballer reaches the very top of the world game, they usually have the momentum needed to dominate for at least the next two seasons.

The longest gap: The case of the two Ronaldos

However, there are two exceptional cases in history where the wait was much longer. The record for the longest gap between a first and second ‘Ballon d'Or’ is five years.

And, interestingly, this record is held by two legends who share the same name: Ronaldo Nazário and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo Nazário won his first award in 1997, dazzling the world.

He then had to overcome extremely serious knee injuries to finally return to the top and win it for a second time in 2002, after being the undisputed star of the World Cup in Korea and Japan.

Cristiano Ronaldo won his first award in 2008 whilst shining for Manchester United. Immediately afterwards, the era of Lionel Messi’s absolute dominance began.

His comeback and definitive triumph came five years later, in 2013, by which time he was Real Madrid’s star player.

The final conclusion

So, having analysed all the official data, we can conclude that these are the actual percentages that answer the initial question:

  • 50% (5 out of 10 players): They won it the following year (a one-year wait).

  • 20 per cent (2 out of 10 players): It took them two years.

  • 20 per cent (2 out of 10 players): It took them five years.

  • 10% (1 out of 10 players): It took 4 years.

These figures tell us that the general rule tends to be immediate success, but nothing is set in stone…

Nothing is guaranteed.

Who will win the Ballon d'Or in 2026?

We’ll find out on 26 October in London.