Africa and Balloon D'OR

Who was the first black player to win the Ballon d’Or?
One of the slightly uncomfortable things about the Ballon d’Or is that players of African descent have not enjoyed a whole lot of success. The last black player to win was George Weah all the way back in 1995. Before him, it was Ruud Gullit in 1987. Before him you have to go way, way back to Eusébio in 1965. And…. that’s it.

Admittedly, there were fewer top level black football players in the old days, but given the high prevalence of top flight black players at the top echelons of European football over the past two decades, that makes for increasingly uncomfortable reading. That said, it is a weird point in history with two all-time greats like Ronaldo and Messi dominating recent awards.

It is isn’t just that they don’t win much: they don’t even tend to place in the top three for voting. In 2019 Virgil van Dijk came second in the voting. Other than him, you have to go all the way back to 2006 (Thierry Henry) to find another black player even finishing in the top three for voting. Of the 45 players finishing in the top three for voting over all those years, only two were black? As I said: uncomfortable reading, given the prevalence of top quality black players in the modern game.