Only one football player has ever received the Super Ballon d'Or trophy, the sport's most coveted accolade.

The first Ballon d'Or trophy was awarded in 1956, and Blackpool's Sir Stanley Matthews won.

Since then, the award has gone to the world's finest players from various eras, including Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Ballon d'Or has changed names and partnered with many outlets throughout the years, but it has always been known as the Ballon d'Or and awarded by France Football.

However, in 1989, France Football decided to introduce a new award to the mix: the Super Ballon d'Or.

Instead of just rewarding the best-performing player from the previous year, the organisers chose to recognise the best-performing player throughout the last three decades.

The only player to have won the Super Ballon d'Or is Alfredo Di Stefano, a Real Madrid icon.

Between 1956 and 1960, the striker helped Real Madrid win five consecutive European Cups, scoring 308 goals in all.

He won the Ballon d'Or twice: in 1957 and 1959. However, France Football recognised his achievements in a unique way.

To commemorate the magazine's 30th anniversary, they awarded the Super Ballon d'Or. Only European players were in contention for the award, meaning the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona were not eligible.

 

Di Stefano was born in Argentina and played there until 1949. He later went on to represent Colombia and then Spain, having earned citizenship that qualified him for this trophy.
Cruyff and Platini were among the nominees but the award went to Di Stefano, 30 years after his second Ballon d'Or win.

The trophy looks a lot similar to the Ballon d'Or but has a lot of gold mini footballs bearing resemblance to Ferrero Rocher chocolates at the base.

 

 

 

The one-of-a-kind award was stationed at the Real Madrid Museum at the Santiago Bernabeu for years but then went to auction in London in September 2021 as part of a 'Property from the Estate of Alfredo Di Stefano' event alongside other iconic memorabilia from his career.
As per Julien's Auctions, the trophy sold for a whopping £187,500.
In 1995, a 'Golden Ballon d'Or' recognising non-European stars was handed out to Argentina legend Diego Maradona.

 

But after he finally got his hands on the World Cup, plenty of fans thought that seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi should have his own special version.

He added an eighth Ballon d'Or award to his collection last year, underscoring his claim to be the greatest player to ever play the game.