10 Youngest Ballon d’Or Winners in Football History

10 Youngest Ballon d’Or Winners in Football History

Hey—Pat here. If you love footy like I do, you’ll know that lifting the Ballon d’Or is the footballer’s version of the Oscars.

But to do it before you’ve even properly grown into your boots? That’s next-level.

Let’s stroll down memory lane and meet the ten youngest ever winners of the Ballon d’Or.

10. Luis Suárez (Spain) – Age ~ 25 years, 7 months, 10 days (1960)

Back when the award was still Kentucky-fried prime time (1960), Suárez, not the Uruguayan one, mind you, claimed the Ballon d’Or at just over 25.

He played for FC Barcelona and was instrumental in a barça-power house of a team. It’s like seeing the precocious teenager in your local Sunday league suddenly winning the Premier League golden boot.

The figure may not scream “teenage prodigy” compared to others on this list, but in 1960 terms, 25 is still quite young for global football royalty.

9. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) – Age ~ 24 years, 8 months, 3 days (1971)

Cruyff. Total Football. Long hair, slick moves, and revolutionising how we think about the beautiful game. He nabbed the Ballon d’Or at just under 25.

With his performances for AFC Ajax and the Dutch national side, he was already rewriting playbooks. If you’ve ever watched football and thought “why are wingers so… different now?”, Cruyff is part of why.

He didn’t just score goals, he influenced the way football was played. Winning at that age made him a star for the next generation. If you’re a nostalgic fan, you’ll love thinking back to his “Cruyff turn”, his swagger, and the fact that he got big honours so early.

8. Marco van Basten (Netherlands) – Age ~ 24 years, 1 month, 27 days (1988)

Van Basten’s name still sends shivers through defences. At just over 24 he had already snagged the Ballon d’Or.

Playing for AC Milan, he was a clinical machine, goals, goals, volley from nowhere, “what the hell did I just witness?”. He showed that age is just a number when you’ve got composure and footballing genius.

His win reminds you: youth isn’t just about speed, it’s about making that big moment count. Van Basten did it with flair. And late-night YouTube re-watches of his volley in the Euro-88 final? Totally worth it.

7. Eusébio (Portugal) – Age ~ 23 years, 11 months, 3 days (1965)

Almost 24. Eusébio, the ‘Black Panther’, ripping it for SL Benfica and Portugal. He claimed the Ballon d’Or in 1965, signalling to the world that one of football’s greats had arrived.

He scored at a ridiculous rate, and his style? Dark hair, lethal finish, wicked presence. If you watch old footage today you’ll still go: “Bloody hell, he could do that.”

His win is emotional in the way football can be, one moment you’re a talented kid, next you’re top of the world. He set the bar for fast-rising forwards.

6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – Age ~ 23 years, 9 months, 29 days (2008)

Okay, full transparency: I’m a bit biased because I saw a lot of this live. CR7 snagged his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 with Manchester United, after a monster season capped by a Champions League win. At just 23 he was already one of the most feared attackers on the planet.

2007/2008 Cristiano Ronaldo was a Beast.
🔥😈🐐

Champions League 🏆
Premier League 🏆
Ballon d'Or 🏆

15years and he has been the last Balon Dor winner from the premier league.

pic.twitter.com/nAwHDKas45

— Ray (@Ray_RMCF) December 2, 2023

As a “young” winner he embodies that moment when talent morphs into dominance. If you were a United fan, you remember the shirt-selling, the free-kicks, the headlines. He made winning early feel… inevitable.

5. Oleg Blokhin (Ukraine/USSR) – Age ~ 23 years, 1 month, 25 days (1975)

A name perhaps less talked about today in popular chat, but Blokhin was a beast. Playing for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet Union, his win at just over 23 felt like football announcing: “Hey, we’ve got serious business, even behind the Iron Curtain.” His pace, his goals, the tactical smarts—it all combined into something special.

It’s fun to reflect: less Instagram, less global media frenzy, more raw talent breaking through. His win is part of that old-school romance of football.

4. George Best (Northern Ireland) – Age ~ 22 years, 7 months, 2 days (1968)

George Best. Come on, the name alone. Winger, icon, maverick. He won the Ballon d’Or at just 22. Playing for Manchester United, he scored in the European Cup final, dribbled like a magician, and made defenders look silly. He was the rock star of football.

What I love most: Best’s win feels like “Wow, youth has taken over”. He blinked and became a legend. And the fact he did it so young gives me the heebie-jeebies—because I know what could’ve been if he’d had even more years.

3. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – Age ~ 22 years, 5 months, 7 days (2009)

Yes, the GOAT enters the top three. Messi picked up his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 playing for FC Barcelona, and yes, you read right, just 22 years old. That season Barca swept everything in sight and Messi? He was central to it.

When you think of “young genius”, Messi is the benchmark. He made artistry look ordinary, goals look effortless. His win at that age? It shouted: “We’re entering a new era.”

2. Michael Owen (England) – Age ~ 22 years, 4 days (2001)

Owen. If you were a Premier League fan in the late ’90s/ early ’00s, you remember his pace, his celebration, his flair. At just 22 years and a few days he won the Ballon d’Or. Playing for Liverpool F.C., he helped them win that cup-treble season and exploded onto the world stage.

His win holds nostalgia for English football fans especially, because it feels like that moment when domestic heroism touched worldwide acclaim. And for me, seeing someone so young do it feels deeply inspiring.

1. Ronaldo Nazário (Brazil) – Age ~ 21 years, 3 months, 5 days (1997)

Drum roll. The youngest ever. Ronaldo, “O Fenômeno”. At just 21 years old, he claimed the Ballon d’Or back in 1997. Playing for Inter Milan (and Barcelona previously), he was already a global phenomenon. His pace, his dribbling, his finishing, all ridiculous for a 21-year-old.

📊 | Ronaldo Nazário in his one and only season with #FCBarcelona:

🏟 49 Games
⚽ 47 Goals
🅰️ 7 Assists
🏆 Copa del Rey
🏆 Spanish Supercup
🏆 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
🥇 LALIGA Top Scorer
👟 Golden Boot
⚽️ Ballon d’Or

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫. 🇧🇷💫 pic.twitter.com/FwlcjK5M8o

— infosfcb (@infosfcb) July 6, 2025

If you ever doubted that age is just a number, his win is Exhibit A. He set the benchmark. And for every young star since, they’ve looked at his trophy cabinet and thought: “Yeah… I want that.”

Wrap-up

So there you have it, our countdown from #10 to #1 of the youngest ever Ballon d’Or winners. It’s wild when you think: some of the greatest footballers ever had already made it before their mid-20s.

It makes you wonder: who’s next? Could a teenager soon break through? The bar’s been set, the standard’s high, and the game keeps evolving.

Thanks for sticking with me through this walk through football history. Got a favourite young winner I missed? Let’s chat.