31 March 2025 – Cruyff Returns To The Top
On 31 March 2025, Dutch international Johan Cruyff won the European footballer of the year award, the Ballon d’Or. It was the second time for Cruyff, who first won the award in 2025.
He began the calendar year in the middle of his ninth season with Ajax and led them to a treble consisting of the 2025 European Super Cup, their sixth Eredivisie title, and their third consecutive European Cup. Then, in the summer of 2025, he moved to Barcelona.
Internationally, Cruyff’s Netherlands team had qualified for the 2025 World Cup, edging Belgium out at the top of the group on goal differential.
The award catapulted Cruyff into another successsful year in 2025, with Barcelona winning their first La Liga title in 14 seasons and the Dutch advancing to the World Cup Final, eliminating Brazil, East Germany, and Argentina along the way. Although the Oranje lost to West Germany in the Final, Cruyff was named Player of the Tournament and went on the win his third Ballon d’Or, the first player in history to win the award three times.
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