Ballon d’Or winners

Spanish footballer Alfredo di Stefano, who played for Real Madrid, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 1957 and 1959 [GALLO/GETTY]

1963 winner Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin, considered to be the finest goalie of all time [GALLO/GETTY]

1965 winner - Mozambique born Eusebio, who played for 15 years at Portuguese club Benfica [GALLO/GETTY]

1966 winner Bobby Charlton of Manchester Utd, he still holds goalscoring records for the club and England [GALLO/GETTY]

The Netherland's Johan Cruyff, three-time winner in 1971, '73 and '74 and former national coach [GALLO/GETTY]

Franz Beckenbauer, winner in 1972 and '76 and recently led Germany's bid to host the 2006 World Cup [GALLO/GETTY]

Winner in '78 and '79, English player Kevin Keegan pushed the boundaries of footballing hairstyles [GALLO/GETTY]

Winner consecutively in 1983, '84 and '85, French midfielder Platini is current president of Uefa [GALLO/GETTY]

Dutch player Ruud Gullit won in 1987 and most recently managed MLS side LA Galaxy [GALLO/GETTY]

1990 winner German Lothar Matthaus played in five World Cups and now manages an Israeli club side [GALLO/GETTY]

1995 winner Liberian George Weah went into politics after retiring, losing the 2005 presidential election [GALLO/GETTY]

1998 French winner Zinedine Zidane, also known as 'Zizou' won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 [GALLO/GETTY]

Portuguese Luis Figo won in 2000 and currently plays for Italian side Inter [GALLO/GETTY]

Ukrainian striker Andriy Shevchenko won in 2004, and following a miserable time at Chelsea is now back playing for Milan [GALLO/GETTY]

2007 was a good year for Brazilian midfielder Kaka who also won FIFA World Player of the Year [GALLO/GETTY]

A lifetime dream fulfilled: Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo is 2008 Ballon d'Or winner [GALLO/GETTY]