Rolling out the Red carpet

Hence, as we celebrate the first 200 continental fixtures to be held at Old Trafford, with FC Twente’s visit ringing up 201 this Wednesday, it became a telling metric to tot up how many of the award’s winners have graced the Theatre of Dreams on those famous European nights.

Since the award was created by France Football in 1956, 45 different players have won it. Of those, 26 have competed in a European fixture at Old Trafford: 21 as visiting players, five in United’s colours and, within them, one who managed to do both.

That singular talent, of course, was Cristiano Ronaldo, who followed fellow Reds Denis Law (1964), Bobby Charlton (1966) and George Best (1968) into the history books, before returning later in his career with both Real Madrid and Juventus.

Michael Owen, who scooped the award in 2001 with Liverpool, rounded off the quintet of Ballon d’Or winners to line up for United in a European home tie.

When Matt Busby defied the Football Association to drag United and English football into the European Cup in 1956/57, his motive was to test his side against the cream of the continental crop, and those challenges came no greater – then or now – than the mighty Real Madrid. The Reds’ first foray in the competition ended with a 2-2 home draw and aggregate exit at the hand of Los Blancos. The visitors were headlined by Alfredo Di Stefano and spearheaded by French schemer Raymond Kopa, who netted Real’s opener in the semi-final showdown.

Midway through the following campaign, United’s meeting with Dukla Prague presented the challenge of Czech genius Josef Masopust, who followed Di Stefano (1957, 1959) and Kopa (1958) by winning the Ballon d’Or in 1962.

By then, the Munich Air Disaster had set back the Reds’ continental quest, but the revival, led by Busby and Jimmy Murphy, soon restarted the procession of occasions and talent to be hosted at Old Trafford. Ferencvaros talisman Florian Albert (1967) would reign supreme two years after his 1965 Fairs Cup visit, while Eusebio’s arrival with Benfica in 1966 represented the first time a reigning Ballon d’Or holder would perform as an Old Trafford visitor. Naturally, the Portuguese marvel shone with two assists as the Reds eked out a 3-2 win in the European Cup quarter-final, first leg.

When United’s reign as European Cup holders was ended in 1969, AC Milan great Gianni Rivera – who won the award later that year – was part of the Rossoneri’s 2-1 aggregate triumph, despite carrying an injury into the second leg in M16. The Reds’ post-Busby decline prompted a dearth of European action for much of the next two decades, but a tantalising reminder of continental romance was provided when Juventus pitched up in Manchester for their Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, first leg in 1984. Reigning gong-holder Michel Platini featured for Turin’s Old Lady, alongside 1982 winner Paolo Rossi, who opened the scoring in a 1-1 draw.

The Reds’ long-awaited return to Europe’s top table in the 1990s brought with it the visit of Barcelona and Hristo Stoichkov (1994) in a thrilling 2-2 draw and also gave rise to a running battle with Juve, who had established themselves as the game’s benchmark, thanks in no small part to the genius of Zinedine Zidane. The bafflingly brilliant Frenchman visited in three successive seasons between 1996/97 and 1998/99, arriving for the latter just four months after winning the 1998 award.

Zidane’s exit at the Treble season’s semi-final stage was a continuation of the campaign’s compelling subplot: of five ties at Old Trafford in the Champions League proper, four of them featured either a past or future Ballon d’Or winner in the visitors’ ranks, with Rivaldo (1999) and Luis Figo (2000) starring for Barcelona, Lothar Matthaus (a winner with Internazionale in 1990) skippering Bayern Munich and Roberto Baggio (1993’s benchmark with Juventus) featuring for Inter in United’s rousing quarter-final success.

In 2003, Zidane and Figo made history alongside Brazil’s Ronaldo to make Real Madrid the first visiting team to boast three Ballon d’Or winners in their lineup at Old Trafford. Il Fenomeno, already a winner with Inter in 1997, was the reigning holder of the honour when he and his fellow Galacticos rocked up for the 2002/03 quarter-final, second leg, and the Brazilian powerhouse put in a regal performance by netting a sensational hat-trick. Though United won on the evening, it was R9’s show and he was fittingly afforded a standing ovation for his brilliance.

Ronaldo wasn’t even the only award winner to score at Old Trafford in that season, with Pavel Nedved netting a late consolation for Juventus during the second group stage, and the Czech playmaker was recognised later that year with his solitary award as Europe’s finest.

As Sir Alex Ferguson put together his next great United team, lessons about the unforgiving nature of the continental game were doled out mercilessly. AC Milan’s Kaka (2007) provided one of the harshest. Having already visited in the Rossoneri’s 2005 win at OT, the Brazilian bagged a brace in the 2007 semi-final, first leg, running United ragged in a 3-2 home win which was ultimately undone back in Milan.

The following term, as United went one better to lift the Champions League trophy for a third time in 2007/08, future winner Karim Benzema (2022) provided a stern test in his breakthrough season with Lyon, two rounds before all-time award benchmark Lionel Messi (an eight-time winner between 2009 and 2023) troubled the Reds for 90 nerve-shredding minutes in United’s semi-final victory over Barcelona.

Messi’s former Barca team-mate, Ronaldinho (2005), brought his customary razzamatazz to the Theatre of Dreams with AC Milan in 2010, but was unable to prevent a handsome 4-0 home win for United in the Champions League second round, second leg. Unfortunately for the Reds, that was our last European home win over a side featuring a one-time holder of Europe’s top award, with Cristiano Ronaldo (a five-time winner) triumphing on his returns with both Real Madrid in 2013 and Juventus in 2019.

In the former, the Portuguese was also joined by 2018 winner and fellow scorer Luka Modric, marking out that Champions League second round, second leg as the only time Old Trafford has witnessed two different Ballon d’Or winners netting against United in the same European fixture.

France Football’s criteria evolved over time, with honorary awards doled out retrospectively in 2016 to celebrate players who were ineligible prior to a 1995 rule change which allowed non-European players into the voting.

Thereafter, Argentina great Diego Maradona (Barcelona) received an honorary Ballon d’Or in 1995 for his services to football, while Romario (Barcelona) and Mario Kempes (Valencia) were also retrospectively recognised. All three had lined up against the Reds at Old Trafford in UEFA competition. Though the trio weren’t officially honoured until long after they’d visited M16, those inside the Theatre of Dreams at the time recognised that they were witnessing greatness in action.

The same applied to some of the game’s all-time legends; Maldini, Koeman, Schuster, Savicevic, Batistuta, Nesta, Cafu, Seedorf, Xavi, Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, Pirlo and countless others were never recognised by the game’s top individual honour, yet still shone in the Old Trafford spotlight.

So, as the Reds return to continental action on Wednesday evening, starting a new century of action at Old Trafford, those on the pitch can draw inspiration from walking in some gigantic footsteps on one of European football’s most prestigious stages.