How many players have won the UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, and Ballon d’Or?
What makes football the greatest sporting competition the world has ever seen are tournaments organized within the leagues. The greatest football tournament every player dreams of partaking in is the FIFA World Cup which is organized every four years. The UEFA Champions League is also Europe’s best tournament every player in Europe dreams of winning. Then we have the Balon D’, football’s most coveted individual achievement award. Winning these tournaments and awards is by no means an easy task. Players who win even one of the three will have their names written in their team’s history and will be remembered forever. Imagine being a player with all these accolades. Only 9 players in history have been able to achieve this feat. The next paragraph will give detailed information on players who have won UEFA Champions League World Cup and Balon d’Or. You can read on African players who have won the UEFA Champions League.
List of players who have won the UEFA Champions League, World Cup, and Balon d’Or
Sir Bobby Charlton
Sir Bobby Charlton was an attacking English midfielder who played for Manchester United. He captained Manchester United to be the first English team to win the most coveted European trophy, the UEFA Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup}. He scored a brace against the Portuguese side, Benfica at Wembley during the finals. He scored the first goal in the 8th minute and the 4th goal of his side in the 99th minute to help his side win 4 goals to 1.
He won the FIIFA World Cup with the three lions in 1966. HE found the back of the net three times and two of the goals were a brace against Portugal in the semi-finals. He played 14 world cups in 4 World Cup tournaments and scored 4 goals. He played in 1958, 1962, 196,6, and 1970 World Cup tournaments.
Due to his immense contribution to England winning the 1966 World Cup, he was awarded the Balon D’or making him the first player to have won the UEFA Champions League, World Cup, and Balon d’Or
Franz Beckenbauer
He is the only defender with 2 Balon d’Or. This should tell you how great he was during his playing days. He won his first European Cup during the 1971/1972 season with Bayern Munich. He went on to win the European Cup for 3 consecutive seasons in 1974, 1975, and 1976. He was awarded the most coveted individual football award after his 4th European Cup.
As a defender, Franz Beckenbauer netted 5 goals for the German National team during his 18 World Cup matches and they have crowned champions in 1974.
Following his exploits in the 1972 season European League, he was awarded his first Balon D’or in 1972.
Gerd Muller
Gerd Muller is considered one of the best German footballers. Together with Franz Beckenbauer, he won 3 consecutive Champions League titles with Bayern Munich. He played 35 European Cup matches and scored a total of 34 goals.
During the 1970 World Cup, Muller scored 10 goals across six games. However, they lost to Italy in the semi-finals but won against Uruguay to place 3rd. The next World Cup, the 1974 edition saw Germany taking the ultimate prize by scoring two goals against the Netherlands with Gerd Muller scoring the winning goal in the 43rd minute. He scored 4 goals during the 1970 World Cup and has a total of 14 goals and 6 assists in 13 World Cup matches.
His remarkable performance at the 1970 World Cup helped him win the years Balon D’or.
Paolo Rossi
Rossi won the European Cup with Juventus during the 1984/85 season. During the Championship run, he scored 5 goals to help the Old Ladies win the most coveted European trophy. In the course of his career, he netted a total of 10 goals in 18 European Cup matches.
During the 1982 World Cup, he scored 6 goals including one against the 3-1 win against Germany in the final to lead the Italians to their third World Cup trophy. After playing 14 World Cup games he had 12 goal contributions with 3 assists. Fnd out about Foreign players who have won the NBA MVP.
After an outstanding display at the 1982 World Cup, he was crowned with the Balon d’Or.
Zinedine Zidane
The French maestro’s outstanding performance at the 1998 World Cup will forever live in the mind and hearts of football fans. He led France to win the most sought-after trophy in the world with a scoring brace against a star-studded Brazilian team.
During the 2006 World Cup, Zidane led the France National team to the finals. However, they lost to penalties when he was sent off the field after headbutting Marco Materazzi in the 110th minute. He netted 5 goals and provided 3 assists during his 12 World Cup games.
Due to his exploits in the World Cup and a successful season with Juventus he was awarded the Balon D’or in 1998 to the admiration of his fans.
He was traded to Real Madrid where he led the team to win the 2001/2002 UEFA Champions League by scoring a volley against Bayern Leverkusen to extend their lead to 2 in the 45th minute. After playing 80 UEFA Champions League matches, he had 44 goal contributions to his name, with 30 being assists.
Rivaldo Ferreira
Most of the players won their Balon D’or after an impressive performance at either the World Cup or UEFA Champions League but that is not the case for Rivaldo.
Rivaldo was crowned with the Balon D’or in 1999 after an outstanding performance with the Brazilian team and Spanish giants, Barcelona to win the Copa America and La Liga titles respectively. He was the top scorer alongside his teammate, Ronaldo with 5 goals with 2 in the finals.
He was part of the star-studded Brazil National Team to win the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored 5 goals during the World Cup to lead the team to victory. During the course of his 14 World Cup games, he netted 8 goals.
He scored 2 goals in 12 games during Italian giants, AC Milan’s impressive UEFA Champions League run to win the team’s 6th title in 2003. During his 73 Champions League matches, he scored 27 goals with 12 assists.
He is the first Brazilian player to win UEFA Champions League, FIFA World Cup, and the Balon d’Or.
Ronaldinho de Assis Moreira
He was simply known as Ronaldinho Gaucho or Ronaldinho. He is considered the most skilled player ever to grace the game of football. He netted 2 goals and provided 3 assists in 5 matches to help Brazil win the 2002 World Cup. After 10 World Cup matches, he has 2 goals and d4 assists to his name.
Ronaldinho became a household name during his playing days at Barcelona. During the 2005/2006 UEFA Champions League, he led the Catalans to claim their 2nd Champions League trophy by netting7 goals and providing 5 assists across 12 games. He has a record of 13 assists and 18 goals in 47 UEFA Champions League matches.
With his impressive performance at the 2005/2006 UEFA Champions League, he was awarded the 2006 Balon D’or.
Kaka (Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite)
The name Kaka was given to him by his younger brother, Rodrydo due to his inability to pronounce Ricardo. He called him ‘Caca’ hence, the name, Kaka.
Though he played only one match during Brazil’s 2002 World cup victory, he was still part of the team that created history by winning the most World Cup trophies, 5. He has 5 goal contributions across 10 World Cup games with only a goal,
He was the top scorer for AC Milan as they clinched their 7th Champions trophy with 10 goals to his name in 2007. Over the course of his 86 Champions League games, he made 55 goal contributions with 30 finding the back of the net.
For his outstanding performance at the Champions League, he won the most coveted individual trophy in football in 2007 to become the third Brazilian to win the FIFIA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, and Balon D’or.
Lionel Messi
The latest player to join these great players in achieving this remarkable and enviable feat is Argentina and Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi.
He did this when he led Argentina to win their 3rd World Cup trophy by scoring 7 goals with 3 assists. Messi has 21 goal contributions over 26 World Cup matches which is the highest in World Cup history. 13 of his goal contributions are goas against their opponents. He is also the only player in World Cup history to win the Golden ball twice. He did it first when he lost to Germany in the finals in 2014 and again in 2022 after beating France.
Messi has a record of 4 UEFA Champions League trophies with Barcelona. He scored the first goal against Manchester United in the 2009 finals. He also scored in the 2011 Champions League final against Manchester United. He won these trophies in 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2015. He is the 2nd highest scorer in Champions League history with 129 goals and 45 assists across 161 games. Check out list of father-son duos to win the NBA Championship.
Messi is called a GOAT- Greatest of All Time because he has a record of 7 Balon d’Or with 4 Balon d’Or in consecutive years. The highest by any player in football history (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019,2021).
Final thoughts on players who have won the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, and Balon d’Or
As I said earlier, winning one of these trophies is no easy task. Imagine a player who has all these accolades. He will forever be remembered in the history of football. In the coming years, I hope to see more players winning these trophies to print their names in the hearts of football fans.
A day should be set aside to remember players who have won the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, and Balon D’or.