The 1992 Ballon d'Or winner was Dutch superstar Van Basten (98 points), who beat Bulgarian superstar Stoichkov (80 points) to win the Ballon d'Or that year, 18 points ahead of his rivals. In the 1991-92 season, Van Basten helped AC Milan to an unbeaten Serie A title, when he scored 25 goals and became the top scorer in Serie A. It is also the record for the most goals scored in a single season with Milan, and he won the World Footballer of the Year and the Ballon d'Or in the same year.
The 2002 Ballon d'Or went to Brazilian superstar Ronaldo (169 points), who was 24 points ahead of second-placed Brazilian team-mate Robert Carlos (145). In the 2002 World Cup, he helped Brazil win the World Cup, where he won the Golden Boot (8 goals) and the Silver Ball, bringing his total World Cup goals to 15.
The 2005 Ballon d'Or winner was Brazil's Ronaldo (225 points), 77 points ahead of second-placed England superstar Frank Lampard. That season, Ronaldo not only won the La Liga and Spanish Super Cup, but also gave a wonderful performance in the Champions League final at the end of the season, and finally helped Barcelona regain the Champions League after 14 years. That year, Xiao Luo also won individual awards such as the World Footballer of the Year, the Golden Ball Award, and the Golden Bell Award.
In 2008, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (who scored 446 points), while second-placed Argentine superstar Lionel Messi had only 281 points. That season, Ronaldo not only helped Manchester United win the Community Shield, Premier League, Club World Cup and Champions League, but also won the European Golden Boot and various honours in English football. He won the European Golden Boot, World Footballer of the Year and Ballon d'Or in the same year, becoming only the second player since Brazilian star Cristiano Ronaldo to win all three top honours at the same time.
Lionel Messi, the 2012 Ballon d'Or winner, scored 42 per cent, while Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo finished second with only 24 per cent. At that time, Messi helped Barcelona win the Champions League and La Liga championships, scored 50 goals in La Liga, and also won the European Golden Boot and La Liga Golden Boot that season.