CRISTIANO RONALDO is expected to equal Lionel Messi’s record of winning the Ballon d’Or on five occasions.
This is something we all know. But what don’t we know about the award.
France Football hand out the most prestigious gong in the game, and have been doing so since 1956.
The 1990s was arguably the award’s most glorious period, with ten different winners throughout the decade.
However, as everyone knows since, Kaka‘s victory in 2007, only Ronaldo and Messi have won the honour.
But here are seven facts you didn’t know about the Ballon d’Or.
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First non-European
In 1995, France Football changed the rules and allowed players who didn’t represent a European country at international level to come into contention.
And, that very year saw the first non-European winner with George Weah claiming the award after a sensational season with Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan.
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France Football had a complete analysis of who, under the new guise, would have in the past and came to the conclusion that Pele would have been honoured a staggering seven times.
Garrincha, Mario Kempes and Diego Maradona — twice — would have been winners, while Romario would have beaten Hristo Stoichkov to the gong a year earlier for his performances at USA 94.
In the past re-nationalised players such as Alfredo Di Stefano and Omar Sivori, who had been born in Argentina but would later represent Spain and Italy respectively had been rewarded.
The new rules was the dawn of a new era as Brazilian players began to dominate — before an Argentinian took over.
English club winners: United, Liverpool and….Blackpool
The Wing Wizard Sir Stanley Matthews was the first winner of the award — with rumours the award was initially created purely to honour the then 41-year-old’s astonishing career.
Denis Law was the next player at English club to win the award.
He claimed the Ballon d’Or in 1964 — two years before Manchester United team-mate Sir Bobby Charlton followed suit after helping England to World Cup glory.
And another two years later, the third member of the Red Devils’ “Holy Trinity” George Best won the award after clinching European Cup glory in 1968.
English sides had to wait until 2001 for one of their players to be crowned the world’s best, when Michael Owen was rewarded after Liverpool’s mini treble.
And, in 2008, Ronaldo won his first after winning the Champions League with United. It means Blackpool players have won the Ballon d’Or more than those from Arsenal and Chelsea.
Denmark’s Allan Simonsen won it in 1977 — five years before he joined Charlton!
Top clubs
With four awards, United aren’t the most successful team. Nowhere near, in fact.
Barcelona are No 1. The five won by Messi helps, their cause, but even without him, they have six.
Luis Suarez was their first winner in 1960, while Johan Cruyff won two while with the club.
Stoichkov in 1994 and Rivaldo in 1999 were also victorious, while Ronaldinho was their last winner before Messi in 2015.
Real Madrid are at No 2, with five on top of Cristiano Ronaldo’s four.
Juventus are next in line, in no uncertain terms helped by the three-in-a-row won by Michel Platini in the 1980s — level with Milan on eioght.
Kevin Keegan
Despite the previous fact, there was one more English winner.
Keegan is actually the only Brit to win the award on more than one occasion.
After leaving Liverpool, he joined Hamburg — where he spent three seasons.
And, in Germany, he won the back-to-back Ballons d’Or in 1978 and 1979.
Top countries
Interestingly, Germany and Holland are the country with the most victories with seven apiece.
Both Cruyff and Marco van Basten won three apiece for the Dutch — while Ruud Gullit was victorious in 1987.
While Germany had Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge winning it twice.
Gerd Muller, Lothar Matthaus and Mattias Sammer also triumphed.
Messi is the only Argentinian winners while, as well as Ronaldo, Portugal boast Eusebio and Luis Figo.
France have also had six winners.
Platini got three, while Raymond Kopa, Jean-Pierre Papin and Zinedine Zidane received the award.
Case for the defence?
Lev Yashin stands alone.
The legendary Soviet Union goalkeeper is the only player in his position to win the Ballon d’or, back in 1963.
Even more astonishingly, only four defenders have won the award.
Germans Beckenbauer, Matthaus and Sammer were honoured — and more recently Cannavaro.
The year 2006 must have been one where France Football took notice of defensive players as Gianluigi Buffon finished second behind his compatriot.
Utter dominance
On three occasions one club has seen the top three players taken up by one of their players — with one side doing two years in a row.
In 1988, van Basten beat off fellow countrymen and Milan club mates Gullit and Frank Rijkaard.
And a year later, he finished ahead of Baresi and Rijkaard.
Since 2007, Ronaldo has made the top three in every season — apart from in 2010.
And that is because Barcelona trio Messi, Andres Iniesta and Xavi occupied the podium.
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