4. France – 6 times
Player | Team | Year |
Raymond Kopa | Real Madrid | 1958 |
Michel Platini | Juventus | 1983, 1984 and 1985 |
Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 1991 |
Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 1998 |
Raymond Kopa was the first Frenchman, the second Real Madrid player and the third overall to win the award when he won the award in 1958.
It took a quarter of a century for the second Frenchman to win the Ballon d’Or. Former UEFA president Michel Platini was the winner in 1983, 1984 and 1985. Platini won Euro for France in 1984. Platini was the first player to win the awards consecutive three times, while playing for Juventus.
In 1991, Jean-Pierre Papin won the award while playing for Marseille and to date is the only winner from the France’s Ligue 1.
The last French player to win the award was Zinedine Zidane in 1998, while playing for Juventus. In the very year, he was instrumental in France win of World Cup.