‘You can win Ballon d’Or without winning a trophy’ — Organisers confirm
According to the Ballon d’Or, the first player to win the award without a team title was Stanley Matthews in 1956, when he claimed the inaugural edition despite finishing the year without silverware.
The organisers of the Ballon d’Or have confirmed that players can win football’s most prestigious individual prize without lifting a team trophy during the season, although the feat has been achieved only six times in the award’s history.
The organisers also noted that no female player has won the Women’s Ballon d’Or without a team title since the award was introduced in 2018.
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