Every footballer in the 'Triple Crown' club | OneFootball

Highlights

When Lionel Messi achieved his lifelong ambition of lifting the World Cup trophy with Argentina in December 2022, the man widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time also joined the exclusive 'Triple Crown' club in the process.

Messi became only the ninth player in football history to join the aforementioned club and was welcomed by former Brazil international Kaka, who became the eighth inductee in 2007, via social media. But what exactly is the 'Triple Crown' club, we hear you cry, and why did Messi only qualify after Argentina's victory over France in the 2022 World Cup final?

Every player on the nine-man list has won the World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and at least one Ballon d'Or award. Evidently, given the fact not even 10 footballers in history have achieved it at the time of writing, this is no mean feat.

Football's Triple Crown club

One year on from Messi's spectacular World Cup triumph and the Triple Crown club still only has nine members. While the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner may have joined Pele and Diego Maradona on the pantheon of all-time greats by lifting football's most prestigious trophy, neither of his two fellow legends managed to enter the Triple Crown club during their respective careers - mainly because non-European players weren't eligible to win the Ballon d'Or until the rules were changed in 1995.

1 Sir Bobby Charlton

Debut: 1956, Retired: 1980

The only Englishman in the Triple Crown club so far, the legendary Sir Bobby Charlton won the World Cup and Ballon d’Or in the same year (1966) before lifting the European Cup with his beloved Manchester United two years later. Respected by football fans around the globe, Charlton's death aged 86 in October 2023 left the entire football world in mourning.

"It’s no surprise to me that we’ve seen tributes to Sir Bobby from everywhere in the world, on every TV channel and in every newspaper, because he was without question the greatest English player of all time," Sir Alex Ferguson wrote in a glowing tribute to Charlton. "People loved him because of all those thunderbolt goals but it was more than that. My dad used to say that humility in success is a sign of greatness, and that was Bobby. He never used to boast about his own achievements; it was always about the team and the club."

2 Franz Beckenbauer

Debut: 1964, Retired: 1983

One of the greatest German footballers ever - if not *the* greatest - Franz Beckenbauer is currently the only player on this list, other than Messi, to have won the Ballon d’Or more than once. Nicknamed "Der Kaiser", the versatile Beckenbauer was a colossal figure for Bayern Munich and Germany's national team throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Beckenbauer later managed West Germany from 1984-1990 and is one of only three men (along with Brazil's Mario Zagallo and France's Didier Deschamps) to have lifted the World Cup both as a player and manager. Very few players throughout history have tasted as much footballing success as the Munich-born icon.

3 Gerd Muller

Debut: 1963, Retired: 1981

Beckenbauer’s former teammate Gerd Muller is unquestionably one of the most prolific strikers in football history. Always in the right place at the right time, very few players either before or since have made scoring goals look so straightforward.

'Der Bomber' is Bayern Munich's all-time leading scorer with a staggering 566 goals to his name, registered in just 607 appearances, according to Goal. It's difficult to imagine any player ever coming close to breaking that record. Robert Lewandowski managed 344 goals in 355 games but was still nowhere near Muller's tally by the time he left Bayern for Barcelona in 2022. Muller also sits above Lewandowski in pole position as the Bundesliga's all-time record scorer with 365 goals in 427 matches. The numbers speak for themselves: the man lived to score goals.

4 Paolo Rossi

Debut: 1973, Retired: 1987

Winner of the Golden Ball and Golden Boot at the 1982 World Cup, Italy’s Paolo Rossi then went on to lift the European Cup with Juventus three years later. After such a dominant showing at the '82 World Cup in Spain, it was no surprise when Rossi became the third Italian to win the Ballon d'Or in the same year, successfully fending off competition from France's Alain Giresse and Poland's Zbigniew Boniek.

Rossi worked as a pundit after hanging up his boots in 1987 following a brief stint with Hellas Verona. He sadly passed away in December 2020, aged 64, following a battle against lung cancer.

5 Zinedine Zidane

Debut: 1989, Retired: 2006

A phenomenally gifted midfielder, Zinedine Zidane managed to turn football into art whenever he crossed the white line. A maestro with the ball at his feet, it was two headed goals in the 1998 World Cup final against Brazil earned the Frenchman his one and only Ballon d’Or award.

'Zizou' won the Champions League with Real Madrid four years later, scoring one of the greatest goals of all time against Bayer Leverkusen in the final at Hampden Park: a masterful left-footed volley that only he could have executed that night. Tragically, Zidane spurned the opportunity to further cement his status as a GOAT (greatest of all time) contender with a wild headbutt on Italy's Marco Materazzi that led to a straight red card in the 2006 World Cup final - his final game as a professional footballer.

6 Rivaldo

Debut: 1991, Retired: 2015

The 1999 Ballon d’Or went to Rivaldo after he helped Brazil secure the Copa America title that year. The talented playmaker went on to lift the World Cup in South Korea/Japan three years later before adding the Champions League to his collection of trophies in 2003.

Best remembered for his five-year spell with Barcelona, in which he scored an impressive 130 goals in 235 games, Rivaldo was undoubtedly one of the game's most exciting and productive players in the early 2000s. In 74 games for the Brazilian national team, between 1993-2003, the left-footed wizard netted 35 goals in 74 games.

7 Ronaldinho

Debut: 1998, Retired: 2015

One of the sport’s biggest icons during the opening decade of the 21st century, Ronaldinho provided joy to millions of football fans thanks to his extraordinary ability. Always seen playing with a beaming smile on his face, the larger-than-life Brazilian could - and perhaps should - have cemented his status as a genuine GOAT contender. His star shone bright but only for a handful of years before his love for the beautiful game appeared to wane.

At his untouchable peak during his first few years at Barcelona, Ronaldinho deservedly claimed the Ballon d’Or award in 2005. Moved on by Pep Guardiola in 2008, Ronaldinho enjoyed some success with AC Milan but was never quite the same magical player after leaving Camp Nou.

8 Kaka

Debut: 2000, Retired: 2017

Kaka is arguably a little fortunate to be on the list considering he hardly featured at the 2002 World Cup, but he has a winners' medal and that's all that matters. The Brazilian midfielder was almost unplayable in 2007 and sealed the Ballon d’Or after lifting the Champions League trophy with AC Milan.

He went on to join Real Madrid in 2009 but only managed to show glimpses of his world-class ability at the Bernabeu. This led to a move back to AC Milan in 2013 before he departed Europe for Major League Soccer outfit Orlando City one year later.

9 Lionel Messi

Debut: 2004

Eight Ballon d’Or award wins is, quite frankly, utterly ludicrous. Messi's name was on the 2023 Ballon d'Or trophy from the moment he won the World Cup with Argentina following a series of inspirational performances throughout the showpiece international tournament in Qatar.

The greatest footballer of all time? He’s unquestionably part of the conversation, and that’s all that any elite player can really ask for. That said, if he stays on until the 2026 World Cup - and there's now talk that he might - and lifts the trophy again, then there will be absolutely no doubt in anybody's mind that Messi truly is the best player we've ever seen.