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Curated category

Ballon d'Or winners

  • Michael OwenMichael James Owen was born on the 14th of December 1979 in Chester, Cheshire. He entered the world as the fourth child of Jeanette and Terry Owen.
  • Lionel MessiOn the 14th of December 2000, a Barcelona official named Carles Rexach signed a contract for Lionel Messi on the back of a paper napkin.
  • Luka ModrićLuka Modrić was born on the 9th of September 1985 in Zadar, a city that would soon become a battlefield. His family lived in the hamlet of Modrići on the…
  • Ronaldo (Brazilian footballer)Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima was born on the 18th of September 1976 in Itaguaí, a small town near Rio de Janeiro. He grew up playing football on the streets…
  • Gerd MüllerGerd Müller was born on the 3rd of November 1945 in Nördlingen, Germany. He began playing football for his hometown club TSV 1861 Nördlingen youth ranks in…
  • Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on the 5th of February 1985 in the São Pedro parish of Funchal, the capital of the Portuguese island of Madeira.
  • Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Yazid Zidane was born on the 23rd of June 1972 in La Castellane, a neighbourhood in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille.
  • Paolo RossiPaolo Rossi was born in the Santa Lucia district of Prato, Tuscany, on the 23rd of September 1956. He began his professional journey with Juventus during the…
  • Lev YashinLev Yashin was born on the 22nd of October 1929 in Moscow. He grew up in a Russian family of industrial workers during a time when World War II forced him to…
  • EusébioEusébio da Silva Ferreira was born on the 25th of January 1942 in the Mafalala neighbourhood of Lourenço Marques, now Maputo.
  • Flórián AlbertFlórián György Albert entered the world on the 15th of September 1941 in the small town of Hercegszántó. His father worked as a blacksmith while his mother…
  • Franz BeckenbauerFranz Anton Beckenbauer was born on the 11th of September 1945 at a clinic in the Maxvorstadt borough of Munich. He grew up in the working-class district of…
  • Hristo StoichkovHristo Stoichkov arrived in the world on the 8th of February 1966. He grew up in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Football found him when he was just eleven…
  • Lothar MatthäusLothar Herbert Matthäus entered the world on the 21st of March 1961 in Erlangen, Bavaria. His father Heinz worked as a canteen manager after fleeing across…
  • Michel PlatiniMichel François Platini was born on the 21st of June 1955 in the small town of Jœuf, Meurthe-et-Moselle. His parents were Aldo and Anna Platini, both of…