Only five players in history know what it is like to win the Ballon d'Or at least three times. The last to achieve this before Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo began their golden era was Marco van Basten.

Nicknamed the "Swan of Utrecht" for his elegance, Van Basten won the first of his three Ballon d'Or awards in 1988. Just five years later, he would play his last match at the age of 28. Recurrent ankle injuries made his life a nightmare, filled with surgeries, injections, and unbearable pain. In those five years, he became one of the greatest forwards of all time.

His performance with the Dutch national team in the 1988 European Championship, which earned him his first Ballon d'Or, is unforgettable. It was his first national team tournament, and although he wasn't a starter in the first match, he ended up being the great hero of the "Clockwork Orange's" first title. He scored a hat-trick against England, the winning goal against Germany in the semifinals, and this masterpiece in the final against the Soviet Union. It remains one of the best goals in football history.

At the club level, he thrived in the Eredivisie with Ajax before moving to Milan, where he won three Serie A titles and, more importantly, reached the pinnacle with two consecutive European Cups. These were his best years, but neither the injuries nor the pain in his right ankle ever left him.

In 1993, his ankle gave out. After several unsuccessful surgeries, Marco van Basten bid farewell to football on August 18, 1995, having become a legend.