2. Nederlands – 7 times
| Player | Team | Year |
| Johan Cruyff | Ajax Barcelona | 1971 1973 & 1974 |
| Ruud Gullit | AC Milan | 1987 |
| Marco van Basten | AC Milan | 1988, 1989 and 1992 |
The award has gone to Netherlands seven times although only three different players have won the award.
Johan Cruyff was the first Dutchman to win the award. Cruyff’s first honour was in 1971 while playing for Ajax and he won the award two more times in 1973 and 1974 while playing for Barcelona. He was the first person to win the award three times.
In 1987, Ruud Gullit of AC Milan won the award and became the second Dutchman to win the honour. Marco van Basten won the award in 1988 and 1989 to make it a hat-trick for AC Milan. He won a personal third in 1992 and became the third player to win the award three times after Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini.
