Quiz! Can you name the 36 players to finish in the Ballon d’Or top three since 1995?

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Every footballer to have finished first, second or third in the Ballon d’Or voting since the mid-'90s. Can you recall them all?

Ballon d'Or
(Image credit: PA)

"Why 1995?" you ask, your face screwed up into a Tardelli-like expression between agony and ecstasy.

Simply because that was the first year that Europe’s long-running award was opened up to footballers of any nationality, so long as they played in a European league (it was expanded again to ‘anyone from anywhere’ in 2007). So now you know.

There have been 22 Ballon d’Or winners from 1995 to now, plus another 44 players who’ve finished second or third (then gritted their teeth to applaud the victor on stage). However, the quiz below isn’t as daunting as it first appears – there are several repeat entrants, meaning only 36 elite footballers have filled those spots.

Eight minutes are on the clock and surnames alone are fine - so get guessing, then tell us how you did @FourFourTwo (we'll retweet your scores). A gold star if you get to full marks – especially if you then challenge some pals too.

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More time-killing quizzes at FourFourTwo.com

Alex Reid
Alex Reid

Alex Reid is a freelance journalist and the former digital features editor at FourFourTwo. He has also written for the Guardian, talkSPORT, Boxing News and Sport magazine. Like most Londoners, he is a lifelong supporter of Aberdeen FC. He is deceptively bad in the air for a big man. He has never been a cage fighter.