Inter at the Ballon d'Or: nominees, previous Nerazzurri winners and fun facts

Class, history, and unparalleled attraction: ever since its inception, the Ballon d’Or has become a symbol of excellence, dreamed of by players worldwide and admired by fans across the globe.

The 70th edition of the Ballon d'Or marked a historic first, with France Football's prestigious annual awards ceremony taking place in London for the first time. The choice of venue paid tribute to English football legend Stanley Matthews, who won the inaugural award 70 years ago. Lautaro Martinez finished 22nd on his fifth Ballon d'Or nomination, following a season in which he won the Scudetto and Coppa Italia, finished as Serie A's top scorer and reached the World Cup final with Argentina. The winner will be chosen by a jury of 100 journalists from around the world, each representing one of the top 100 countries in the FIFA ranking. The jury will vote from a shortlist of 30 candidates selected by the editorial teams of France Football and L'Équipe, under the supervision of two international figures: 2000 Ballon d'Or winner Luis Figo and Fabio Capello, both acting as UEFA ambassadors. The criteria take into account individual performances, team success, class, and fair play.

Here is an overview of all the Ballon d'Or editions involving Inter players since the award was established in 1956.

NERAZZURRI BALLON D’OR WINNERS

LOTHAR MATTHÄUS

Number 10, complete midfielder and the driving force of a record-breaking Inter: Lothar Matthäus was the first Inter player to win the Ballon d’Or. In 1990, France Football presented him with the award after Lothar won the Italia ‘90 World Cup with West Germany. 

Matthäus presented his Ballon d’Or to the Nerazzurri fans at San Siro on 10 March 1991, before Inter vs Juventus, which ended 2-0 with a goal scored by the German. Lothar was celebrated in a ceremony that saw children wearing Inter and Germany shirts.

RONALDO - 1997, 2002 4 January 1998, on a cold Winter Sunday, Inter were ready to return to the pitch after the league’s Christmas break. An important match against Juventus awaited the Nerazzurri; once again, the match was preceded by celebrations for an Interista Ballon d’Or winner. It was Luis Nazario de Lima, known by everyone as Ronaldo, il Fenomeno, who on that very evening, provided the assist for Youri Djorkaeff’s winning goal following an incredible run down the line. 

The first Brazilian ever to receive the France Football award, Ronaldo who arrived at Inter the previous July, made the Nerazzurri fans dream; on that day, they embraced their champion, celebrating his unparalleled greatness. After winning the 1997 edition, Ronaldo would be crowned again in 2002, after winning the World Cup as top scorer with Brazil.

BALLON D’OR DREAM TEAM

Two extraordinary players, two footballers who won the Ballon d’Or wearing the Nerazzurro shirt. Two legends, who in 2020, were included in the ‘Ballon d’Or Dream Team,’ the best eleven in history selected by the Ballon d’Or jury after the historic French magazine decided not to present the award that year. 

Here is the Dream Team, made up of the best players from 1956 to 2020: 

Yashin; Cafù, Beckenbauer, Maldini; Maradona, Xavi, Matthäus, Pelé; Messi, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo.

THE OTHER WINNERS

Whilst Matthäus and Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or whilst playing for Inter, there are other players who have won the France Football award before or after their Inter careers. For example, Luis Suárez (1960, Barcelona), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980 and 1981, Bayern Munich), Roberto Baggio (1993, Juventus), Matthias Sammer (1996, Borussia Dortmund), Luís Figo (2000, Barcelona) and Fabio Cannavaro (2006, Real Madrid).

BONUS TRACK: ALL OF INTER’S NOMINEES IN HISTORY

A total of 34 players in Inter history have been nominated for the Ballon d'Or, representing 14 different nationalities. The Nerazzurri player with the most nominations is Sandro Mazzola with nine, followed by Giacinto Facchetti on eight. Lautaro Martinez completes the top three with five nominations, moving ahead of Matthäus, Ronaldo and Suárez, who were each shortlisted four times.

In addition to the wins, Nerazzurri players have also recorded eight podium finishes: six second places and two third-place finishes.

Luis Suárez came in 2nd place in 1961 (winner: Sivori) and in 1964 (winner: Law), Facchetti in 1965 (winner: Eusebio), Mazzola in 1971 (winner: Cruyff), Matthäus in 1991 (winner: Papin), Dennis Bergkamp in 1993 (winner: Baggio). 

Andreas Brehme came third in 1990, whilst Ronaldo came third in 1998. 

Below are the details of all the Inter nominees by edition and final position:

• 1958 -> Skoglund 19th

• 1960 -> Angelillo 23rd

• 1961 -> Suarez 2nd

• 1962 -> Suarez 15th

• 1963 -> Suarez 8th

• 1964 -> Suarez 2nd, Corso 7th, Facchetti and Mazzola 19th

• 1965 -> Facchetti 2nd, Mazzola 8th, Corso 15th

• 1966 -> Corso 11th, Mazzola 14th

• 1967 -> Mazzola 10th, Facchetti 20th

• 1968 -> Facchetti 8th, Mazzola 17th, Domenghini 24th

• 1970 -> Mazzola 8th, Facchetti 18th

• 1971 -> Mazzola 2nd, Facchetti 13rd

• 1972 -> Mazzola 15th

• 1973 -> Facchetti 12th, Mazzola 14th

• 1975 -> Facchetti 27th

• 1980 -> Prohaska 7th (Austria Vienna/Inter), Altobelli 27th

• 1984 -> Rummenigge 8th (Bayer/Inter)

• 1985 -> Rummenigge 5th

• 1986 -> Altobelli 10th

• 1987 -> Altobelli 30th

• 1988 -> Matthäus 6th (Bayern/Inter), Zenga 17th

• 1989 -> Matthäus 4th, Brehme 14th

• 1990 -> Matthäus 1st, Brehme 3rd, Klinsmann 6th, Zenga 12th

• 1991 -> Matthäus 2nd

• 1993 -> Bergkamp 2nd (Ajax/Inter)

• 1996 -> Djorkaeff 9th (Psg/Inter), Kanu 14th (Ajax/Inter)

• 1997 -> Ronaldo 1st (Barcellona/Inter), Djorkaeff 12th

• 1998 -> Ronaldo 3rd

• 1999 -> Vieri 7th (Lazio/Inter), Kanu 23rd (Inter/Arsenal), Ronaldo 23rd

• 2000 -> Hakan Sukur 18th (Galatasaray/Inter), Blanc 27th

• 2002 -> Ronaldo 1st (Inter/Real Madrid)

• 2003 -> Toldo 22nd

• 2004 -> Adriano 6th

• 2005 -> Adriano 7th

• 2006 -> Vieira 16th (Juventus/Inter)

• 2007 -> Ibrahimovic 7th

• 2008 -> Ibrahimovic 9th

• 2009 -> Eto'o 5th (Barcelona/Inter), Ibrahimovic 7th (Inter/Barcelona), Julio Cesar 21st

• 2010 -> Sneijder 4th, Eto'o 12th, Maicon 17th, Julio Cesar 19th

• 2011 -> Forlan 7th (Atletico/Inter), Sneijder 12th

• 2021 -> Lukaku 12th (Inter/Chelsea), Lautaro 21st, Barella 26th

• 2023 -> Lautaro Martinez 20th, André Onana 23rd (Inter/Manchester United), Nicolò Barella 27th

• 2024 -> Lautaro Martinez 7th, Hakan Calhanoglu 20th

• 2025 -> Lautaro Martinez 20th, Denzel Dumfries 25th

• 2026 -> Lautaro Martinez 22nd