5 Youngest Ballon d'Or winners in football history

The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual award which a footballer can get their hands on. Only some of the most skilled and talented players have received the award. Lionel Messi has the most Ballon d'Or awards with 8, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo's 5. They are the only players with the most Ballon d'Or awards in history. But, today we will look at the players who went on to win this prestigious award at a very young age. Here are the 5 youngest Ballon d'Or winners in football history.

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5 youngest Ballon d'Or winners:

#5. Oleg Blokhin (1975) - 23 years, 1 Month 25 days

Throughout his marvellous career, the Ukrainian winger scored 59 goals in over 200 appearances for Dynamo Kyiv. He also scored 35 goals in 101 games for the Soviet Union before hanging up his boots in 1990.

#4. George Best (1968) - 22 years, 7 Months 2 days

Manchester United legend George Best was one of the youngest footballers to get their hands on this prestigious award. Best was awarded the Ballon d'Or in 1968 for his promising season with Manchester United. Alongside helping the club to win their European Cup in the same year by beating Benfica.

The Northern Irishman scored 179 goals in over 400 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions, with the club honouring their former player by creating a statue of him in front of the stadium.

#3. Lionel Messi (2009) - 22 years, 5 Months 7 days

Lionel Messi has won the most number of Ballon d'Or awards. At just 22 years, 5 Months 7 days old, the Argentine won his first Ballon d'Or in 2009 for a spectacular season with Barcelona. Lionel Messi, that season defeated his closest competitor, Cristiano Ronaldo, by a big margin of 240 votes to win the award.

In the 2008-09 season, Barcelona won six titles and Messi scored 41 goals while providing 20 assists for club and country that season.

#2. Michael Owen (2001) - 22 years, 4 days

Michael Owen is the only Liverpool player and is the fifth English player to win the Ballon d'Or. His contributions have helped Liverpool win the club treble of the FA Cup, League Cup, and UEFA Cup that season. However, they missed out on the league title. After his successful journey with Liverpool, Owen joined the Spanish giants Real Madrid, but unfortunately, his career was cut short due to injuries. He returned to Liverpool's arch-rivals Manchester United but failed to replicate his Liverpool days.

In 2001, he defeated David Beckham, Oliver Kahn and Raul to win the Ballon d'Or. Own that season had scored 31 goals for Liverpool to win the award.

#1. Ronaldo Nazario (1997) - 21 years, 3 months, 5 days

Ronaldo Nazario is the youngest player to win the Ballon d'Or in 1997 for his brilliant performances. Ronaldo is one of the most complete Brazilian players who was an integral part of the Inter Milan squad. He later won this award again after 5 years but for Real Madrid. Despite enduring an injury-plagued career, Ronaldo scored goals galore for club and country, winning two La Liga, Copa America, and FIFA World Cup titles.

Ronaldo's stats in 1997

Almost two decades have passed and Ronaldo Nazario is still the only player to win the Ballon d'Or award before the age of 22.