English Ballon d’Or Winners: Can Bellingham join the famous four?

Following its inception in 1956, just four Englishmen have won the Ballon d’Or. It is an incredible stat, and one that is made even more surprising when it was Sir Stanley Matthews who won it in the inaugural year.

Since then, he has been emulated by Sir Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan and Michael Owen. A plethora of supremely talented England internationals has not been honoured with the individual European prize, from Bobby Moore to Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer to Steven Gerrard.

It is just a band of four to have their names on the list, whilst Keegan is the only Englishman to win the award twice.

English Ballon d'Or Winners – the full list

Sir Stanley Matthews

The first winner, the first English winner, an old school legend, a gentleman. Matthews won it in 1956 and all of the others have followed since.

Matthews featured in the English top flight until he was 50, something that is unimaginable today. The right winger, who spent most of his career between Blackpool and Stoke City, was renowned for his speed, intelligence and crossing ability.

Franz Beckenbauer said of Matthews that “almost no one in the game could stop him”. To this day, he also holds the record as the oldest England player ever, representing the Three Lions one year after his Ballon d’Or triumph at the age of 42.

In 1956, he beat the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas to the award, which shows the level he was operating at.

Sir Bobby Charlton

One of England’s greatest icons, and in very exclusive company as one of Manchester United's previous Ballon d'Or winners. In 1966, he won the World Cup, with his exploits going a long way to securing the Ballon d’Or that year.

He scored twice in United’s run to the European Cup semi-finals, where they lost to Partizan Belgrade over two legs. The Old Trafford club only finished fourth in the English First Division in ‘66, a trophyless season in which Charlton scored 15 times.

It was an ordinary club season that turned into the extraordinary due to Charlton’s excellence. It would be crowned with that historic moment at Wembley when the Jules Rimet trophy was held aloft.

His strong form continued for some time and he was the runner-up in the next two seasons, with his United teammate George Best winning the Ballon d’Or in 1968. Charlton played as an attacking midfielder, and was the complete package.

The Englishman could score from range with either foot, dictate games with his passing, but also possessed great stamina and defensive diligence. Despite sadly passing away in 2023, Charlton's legacy lives on, as even players as young as Real Madrid's teenage star Endrick describe him as an inspiration.

Kevin Keegan

The third Englishman to win the trophy and the only one to win it twice. Keegan was a tremendous player who proved himself at home and abroad, as evidenced by his sparkling form with Hamburg, which won him the Ballon d’Or.

Along the way, he picked up a Bundesliga title in addition to his European Cup success with Liverpool. He won the coveted Ballon d’Or in 1978 and 1979 due to his excellence in the north of Germany, where he is still revered to this day.

Keegan was one of the first top-drawer English players to succeed overseas, paving the way for future stars like Jude Bellingham. Younger fans today will not know much about Keegan the player, but we would love it if you checked out his exploits online.

Michael Owen

From 1979 until 2001, no Englishman had been awarded the top prize until Michael Owen exploded onto the scene. He was a top striker who excelled for Liverpool and went on to feature for Real Madrid, Newcastle, Manchester United and Stoke.

He represented England with distinction and is still the Three Lions' sixth-leading goalscorer all-time. When he broke through at Liverpool as a teenager, he was nearly unplayable.

The striker was blessed with near-supernatural pace, but also had the agility and anticipation to match. He always seemed to get there first.

Owen was a calm and accurate finisher too. When he left Liverpool at just 23, he had scored 158 goals already.

In December 2001, Owen emulated Keegan, Charlton and Matthews before him, as the Ballon d’Or recipient. It capped off a remarkable run of success at Liverpool, having won five trophies in the calendar year and all within a few months.

In the 2000/01 season, the Reds secured a unique treble, winning the League Cup, the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup (today known as the Europa League). That was followed up with a Charity Shield win and a UEFA Super Cup success at the beginning of the following season with Owen front and centre in a trophy-laden spell for the Reds.

Will an English player win the next Ballon d'Or?

In September 2024, FIFA announced the shortlist of nominees to scoop football’s greatest individual honour. There was no shortage of English names, but only Jude Bellingham even came close to challenging the top two of Vinicius Junior and Rodri.

This is how the English players performed in the voting breakdown:

Read on for a prediction for which players stand the best chance of competing for the 2025 Ballon d'Or.

Cole Palmer (Chelsea)

Recently crowned England's Player of the Year, Cole Palmer has been extraordinary since his move to Chelsea. He scored 26 and assisted 15 in his first full season, and continued that fine form into 2024/25 until recently.

On performances alone, Palmer is clearly one of the best players in the world at the moment. However, in order to win a Ballon d'Or, one normally needs a major trophy win, which may be beyond the reach of his Chelsea teammates for the time being, unless you want to count the Club World Cup.

One way Palmer could improve his chances is by upping his game in the biggest matches. The Englishman showed his capabilities with a stunning equaliser in the Euro 2024 final, but at club level, his record against the ‘Big Six' does not make for pretty reading.

His record must in these games must improve for Palmer to be considered for the biggest individual honour.

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

One player who will be competing for the very biggest honours throughout his career is Jude Bellingham. The Real Madrid midfielder won La Liga and the Champions League in his debut campaign in Spain, and Los Blancos are always at the pinnacle of the sport.

He scored 23 and assisted 14 in 2023/24, and made the difference for England at the Euros with a stunning last-gasp equaliser against Switzerland. Bellingham has played more of  a supporting role in 2024/25, unsurprising given the arrival of Kylian Mbappe.

It took the Englishman a few months to adapt, but he is still contributing massively in the final third. He has not lost the ability to make the difference in the biggest moments either, with a 92nd minute winner away to Manchester City catching the eye in particular.

Bellingham may have plenty of competition from his Real Madrid teammates for the Ballon d'Or, but we think he is the most likely English player to win it right now – the Real Madrid factor cannot be argued against.

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

Arsenal's very own ‘Starboy' finished a very respectable 21st in the 2024 Ballon d'Or rankings. But as he seems to most seasons, Saka had found a new gear to his game in 2024/25.

He has already recorded key contributions in big games against Manchester City, PSG, Spurs and Liverpool. Unfortunately, Saka suffered a lengthy layoff, following hamstring surgery in December.

His absence majorly curtailed Arsenal's title aspirations. Combined with Arsenal's other injury issues, the Gunners failed to win major silverware last season.

He may not be a frontrunner for the next Ballon d'Or, but in the future, there is no reason he cannot become the next of the English Ballon d'Or winners.

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

A player is never too old to win the Ballon d'Or, and Harry Kane still has a chance to even in his 30s. The former Tottenham striker won the first piece of major silverware in his entire football career by winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Kane is as prolific as ever in front of goal, and will be key if Bayern boast any chance of winning the UEFA Champions League (UCL) at the end of this season. He also has a chance to win the FIFA World Cup as captain next summer.

Should he win either or, Kane should be in with a decent chance of winning a future Ballon d'Or. However, time is admittedly starting to run out for him.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid)

Signing as Real Madrid's new Galatico from reigning Premier League champions Liverpool in this summer's transfer window, Trent Alexander-Arnold will be hoping that the move can yield yet more silverware for him.

The England full-back has made no secret that the prospect of winning the Ballon d'Or is something that ranks highly in his career ambitions, not least because he would become the first full-back in football history to win the prize should he fulfil his ambitions.

Life in Madrid has been far from plain sailing for Alexander-Arnold so far, so he should perhaps park his aspirations of being crowned the best footballer in the world for now and focus on becoming a regular in the Real Madrid XI.

A brief history of the Ballon d'Or

From 1956 to 2009, the original Ballon d'Or was organised by the renowned France Football magazine and awarded to the European Footballer of the Year. Only European players representing European clubs were eligible to receive the prize, meaning that superstars like Pele and Diego Maradona were not invited to the party.

That changed in 1995, when AC Milan’s George Weah, a Liberian and the current President of the African nation, became the first non-European recipient. However, he was recognised for his exploits in Italy.

In 2010, the Ballon d’Or was merged with the World Player of the Year to adopt official patronage and become the FIFA Ballon d’Or.