Liverpool's Golden Legacy: Every Ballon d'Or Champion Who Wore the Red Jersey

Being among football's most legendary clubs and consistent champions, it comes as no shock that Liverpool have featured numerous Ballon d'Or candidates since the prestigious award began in 1956.

The club with 20 English league titles, eight FA Cup triumphs and six European crowns has developed and recruited some of the finest talents ever to play the beautiful game.

Yet this success hasn't always resulted in individual recognition. Surprisingly, Liverpool's record regarding Ballon d'Or winners is quite modest, though several Reds have come tantalizingly close to claiming the prize.

Below are all the Liverpool players who have claimed the Ballon d'Or throughout history.

Every Liverpool Player Who Has Won the Ballon d'Or

Just one player has claimed the Ballon d'Or while donning Liverpool's famous red jersey.

Not Steven Gerrard, Kenny Dalglish or Mohamed Salah, but former forward Michael Owen who claimed the accolade, winning the award in 2001.

Although his subsequent transfers to Real Madrid and, more controversially, Manchester United would damage his standing at Anfield, Owen was once Liverpool's golden boy. Progressing through the youth system at remarkable pace and swiftly becoming a first-team regular, he was viewed as the club's future superstar.

Owen reached double-digit goal tallies in every Premier League campaign for Liverpool apart from his first season, when he appeared just twice. However, his standout year was 2000/01. While he would net more goals in subsequent seasons, his contribution to Liverpool's memorable treble under Gérard Houllier—capturing the League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup—established him among football's elite.

The pinnacle was the FA Cup final versus Arsenal, where Owen netted twice in the closing five minutes to overturn a 1-0 disadvantage into a 2-1 triumph—a legendary moment in contemporary Liverpool folklore. He concluded the campaign as the club's leading goalscorer with 24 strikes across all competitions.

These performances secured him the Ballon d'Or, defeating future Real Madrid colleague Raúl and Bayern Munich's keeper Oliver Kahn to be named the planet's finest player.

Liverpool Players Who Have Finished in the Ballon d'Or Top Three

Despite their extended reign over English football, Liverpool didn't have a Ballon d'Or podium finisher until 1983. Fittingly, it was King Kenny, who placed second in 1983 behind Juventus and France's Michel Platini.

Dalglish never achieved Ballon d'Or success despite his brilliance, and Gerrard experienced similar disappointment with the Reds. He had to accept third place in 2005 behind Frank Lampard and victor Ronaldinho, despite being the driving force in the Liverpool team that orchestrated that miraculous comeback against AC Milan in the Champions League final that same year.

Fernando Torres, Gerrard's attacking partner at Anfield during the late 2000s, also secured a third-place Ballon d'Or finish in 2008 after netting the decisive goal in the European Championship final with Spain that season. The striker had also found the net 33 times across all competitions in his inaugural Liverpool campaign.

Completing this impressive quartet of runners-up is Virgil van Dijk, who finished second to Lionel Messi in 2019. The Dutch centre-back had revolutionized Jurgen Klopp's team after arriving from Southampton and helped the Reds capture the Champions League that same year before securing the Premier League crown the following season.

Every Liverpool Player to Finish on the Ballon d'Or Podium