The 70th Ballon d'Or ceremony will be held at London’s Palladium on 26 October.
The 70th Ballon d’Or ceremony lands at London’s Palladium on 26 October. Harry Kane of Bayern Munich tops the betting list, while teammates Luis Díaz, Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano also feature among the nominees. With the event just days away, we revisit the six Bundesliga players who have ever lifted the coveted trophy. Who could top such a storied list?
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Gerd Müller (1970)
Müller, a veritable legend for club and country, was the first German player and first Bundesliga representative to win the Ballon d’Or. Having scored a whopping 38 league goals for Bayern during the 1969/70 campaign to get his hands on the Torjägerkanone for the second year running, the clinical striker – still the Bundesliga’s record goalscorer – netted 10 times for West Germany at the 1970 FIFA World Cup to clinch the tournament’s Golden Boot.
Although he was unable to inspire his country to lift the trophy in Mexico, despite his best efforts – he scored a brace in the thrilling 4-3 semi-final defeat by Italy at Estadio Azteca – his considerable achievements were recognised at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in December of that year, where he finished just above England’s Bobby Moore in the voting. A certain Franz Beckenbauer finished fourth, but his time would come…
Watch:An ode to Gerd Müller
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Franz Beckenbauer (1972, 1976)
The legendary defender, then captain of Bayern and West Germany, dominated the 1971/72 season. He steered Munich to a Bundesliga title, the first of three straight, and then guided his nation to its inaugural Euro win in Belgium. In one of the narrowest Ballon d’Or votes ever, ‘Der Kaiser’ edged teammate Gerd Müller and Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Günter Netzer by just two points. It marked the first occasion three players from the same league or nationality filled the podium.
Four years later Beckenbauer’s lead widened, a result I find unsurprising after Bayern clinched a third consecutive European Cup in 1975/76. A month afterward he marshaled West Germany to the Euro final, only to fall short against a strong Czechoslovak side. By year’s end the elegant sweeper became the first defender to claim the Ballon d’Or twice.
Bayern Munich legend Franz Beckenbauer is one of only two Germans to win the Ballon d’Or twice. – Fred Joch via www.imago-images.de
Allan Simonsen (1977)
Regarded as Borussia Mönchengladbach’s all‑time great, the skillful Dane faced stiff competition for the 1977 award, including future double winner Kevin Keegan of Hamburg and a rising Michel Platini. Ultimately, Simonsen’s relentless displays – driving the Foals to a third straight Bundesliga crown and a European Cup final, where he netted a memorable equaliser in a 3‑1 loss to Liverpool – secured the honor.
The lone Danish Ballon d’Or laureate, Simonsen also became the first Bundesliga player outside Bayern to earn the trophy.
Allen Simonsen (l.) helped Borussia Mönchengladbach to three league titles in his seven‑year stint. – imago/Horstmüller
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Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1980,1981)
Bayern’s scoring machine Rummenigge struck 26 goals in 1979/80, earning the Bundesliga top‑scorer award and propelling his club to its first league crown since 1974. While that feat put the swift forward in Ballon d’Or contention, his decisive displays for a victorious West Germany at Euro 1980 in Italy – including an assist for Horst Hrubesch’s goal in the final and a place in the Team of the Tournament – clinched the prize.
The back‑to‑back European Cup champion added a second straight league medal the following season and reclaimed the Torjägerkanone with an even higher haul of 29 goals. In the Ballon d’Or vote, teammate Paul Breitner finished second, giving Bayern another one‑two sweep. Remarkably, it was the sixth consecutive year a Bundesliga player captured the award.
Karl‑Heinz Rummenigge topped the Bundesliga scoring charts three times. – imago sportfotodienst
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Before Sammer’s triumph, Lothar Matthäus – who shone for Bayern in two spells but was contracted to Inter Milan at the time – became the fourth German to hoist the Ballon d’Or in 1990, after captaining West Germany to World Cup glory that summer.
Matthäus’s teammate Jürgen Klinsmann placed second behind AC Milan’s George Weah in 1995, while fellow Bayern star Oliver Kahn secured third place in both 2001 and 2002, a rare achievement for a goalkeeper.
Manuel Neuer also finished third in 2014 after Brazil’s World Cup win, and Bayern representatives were runners‑up in 2021 (Robert Lewandowski, who came agonisingly close to dethroning Lionel Messi) and 2022 (Sadio Mané).
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